Spain's coronavirus deaths top 20,000

The Spanish Health Ministry on Saturday confirmed that over 20,000 people in the country have lost their lives because of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The daily information published by the ministry showed that 565 people died in the 24-hour period until 21:00 hours local time on Friday, a slight decline from the 585 confirmed on Friday, bringing the death toll to 20,043.

The ministry's data showed that 42.1 percent of the victims are in the age group of 80-89 years, with the 70-79 group making up 26.3 percent and the over 90's 18.3 percent.

The same period saw 4,499 new cases, pushing the total infections to 191,726. The new cases equate to a daily percentage rise of 2.4 percent, slightly down from 2.9 percent and 2.8 percent registered on Thursday and Friday.

Madrid continues to be the worst affected region in Spain, with 52,946 confirmed cases and 7,132 deaths. Catalonia, in the northeast of Spain, came in second with 39,943 cases and 3,879 fatalities.

The Mayor of Madrid Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida confirmed in a radio interview on Saturday that he believed "it will be difficult for the city to hold any concerts or sporting events or any events attended by a large number of people until the autumn."

Meanwhile, 74,662 patients in Spain have recovered, 3,166 more than the previous 24-hour period.