Spain overtakes Italy in cases, European countries adhere to COVID-19 measures

A GLIMMER OF HOPE

Despite the saddened figures, a glimmer of hope seems to appear in Europeans' battle against the virus, with some positive changes occurring.

Spain reported 809 new deaths between Friday and Saturday, 123 fewer than the 932 deaths registered between Thursday and Friday. The single-day increase of 7,026 new cases on Saturday was also down from the 7,472 recorded on Friday.

Italy also reported its first decline in the number of patients in intensive care units.

"The number of patients in intensive care has decreased by 74 individuals," Civil Protection Department Chief Angelo Borrelli said on Saturday.

"It is the first negative number since we began managing the emergency," he added.

Saturday's death toll of 681 also continued the declining trend these days.

"The number of daily fatalities has constantly been decreasing" from a high of 969 deaths on March 27, Borrelli pointed out.

France, despite a spike in death toll because of the inclusion of the deaths linked to COVID-19 in nursing homes, started to see a slowdown of growth in the number of patients requiring life support. It dropped to 2.6 percent on Saturday from 4 percent on Friday.

"This permanent need to find beds in intensive care units increases less quickly," said Director General of Health Jerome Salomon. "The number of cured people is also increasing very quickly."

COVID-19 cases in Portugal on Saturday passed the 10,000 mark, reaching 10,524. But the number of infected people appears to be decreasing in recent days, according to the country's public health experts.

Similar positive changes are also being observed in other European countries.

The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the Netherlands is growing at a slower pace.

"We have seen the number of admissions increases less rapidly in recent days than last week," said Ernst Kuipers, chairman of the Dutch National Coordination Center for Patient Distribution on Saturday.

"The social distancing seems to work. It is therefore very important to continue this," Kuipers stated.