Coronavirus outbreak declines in Europe as countries prepare de-escalation

Madrid, May 1 (efe-epa).- There was a slight increase in the number of daily coronavirus deaths in Spain on Friday but the outbreak continued to slow in the country.

Health officials reported 281 fatalities in the past 24 hours, 13 more than on Thursday and the second consecutive day that the number of deaths has been below 300.

There were also 1,175 new Covid-19 cases reported and 2,628 hospital discharges, continuing with the downward trend of the contagion in Spain, which has been one of the worst affected countries in the world.

The total number of reported deaths was 24,824 with 215,216 confirmed cases and 114,678 recoveries, according to figures released by the health ministry, out of a population of almost 47 million.

Fernando Simón, who leads the country’s emergency public health department, said during a daily press briefing: “We have a favourable trend in terms of the number of deaths, we remain below 300, which is good news compared to previous weeks.”

He added the figure which “clearly shows the improvement is the situation of new recoveries, an increase of 2.5% compared to the day before”.

The numbers reported in Madrid, one of the worst affected areas in the country, had also improved with 46 deaths in the last 24 hours, the lowest number since 12 March.

In the United Kingdom the Covid-19 death rate among black people has been three times as high as white patients, research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies revealed on Friday.

The study also showed that the outbreak has affected a greater proportion of people from ethnic minorities in the country.

The IFS said ethnic minority groups have experienced “excessive” mortality, with British authorities previously vowing to launch an investigation into the issue.