MADRID, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Spain rose from 19,980 on Friday to 24,926 on Saturday, according to the daily report published by the Spanish Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Services.
The number of deaths caused by the virus has also risen sharply from 1,002 to 1,328, while 2,125 people have now made a recovery.
The region of Madrid continues to be the worst affected by COVID-19, with 8,921 confirmed cases and 804 deaths. There are 4,203 cases in the Catalan region of northeast Spain, where a further 122 lives have been lost.
The Basque Region in northern Spain reported a total of 1,725 coronavirus cases and 85 deaths. The central region of Castilla-Leon reported 1,466 cases and 55 deaths.
Work is continuing to prepare more hospital beds, with hotels being converted into hospitals for people who are not seriously ill. The IFEMA Exhibition center in Madrid has been converted into a field hospital with 5,500 beds by the Spanish Military Emergency Response Unit.
The unit has also been disinfecting hospitals, airports and other travel hubs throughout the country.
