Spain virus toll tops 1,000, nearly 20,000 infected
Madrid: The coronavirus death toll rose to 1,002 in Spain on Friday after 235 people died in 24 hours, and the number of cases approached 20,000, the health ministry said.
The spiralling number of infections has propelled Spain into the top four worst-hit countries in the world -- with the figures growing as the country steps up its capacity for testing.
Over the past seven days, the number of deaths has risen 10-fold, the figures show.
Since the last update around midday on Thursday, another 2,833 infections have been confirmed, taking the overall number of cases to 19,980, the ministry's emergencies coordinator Fernando Simon said.
But he said it was "very likely that the figures underestimated the overall number" of people with the virus, saying the testing laboratories were "overwhelmed" which could skew the numbers.
Of those diagnosed, 52 percent were in hospital and around six percent were being treated in intensive care.
Madrid remains the worst-hit area, accounting for 7,165 cases, or 36 per cent of the total infections in Spain, while the number of deaths in the capital rose to 628 -- around 63 per cent of the national total.
Government figures show that 1,585 cases have recovered, three-quarters of whom are in the Madrid region.
Meanwhile, Madrid and Barcelona announced on Friday they would set up field hospitals in their biggest exhibition halls to deal with the anticipated growth in the number of patients.
In Madrid, the IFEMA conference centre would be fitted with 5,500 hospital beds, part of it dedicated to an intensive care unit, while a section of the Fira de Barcelona centre would be similarly equipped, city authorities said.
Over the last few hours, a total of 2,640 troops had disinfected the country's main airports and ports along with retirement homes and prisons, General Miguel Angel Villarroya, chief of the defence staff, told the same news conference.
On Thursday, police arrested 55 people for not respecting the lockdown that was put in place at the weekend, under which Spain's 46 million population can only leave home to shop for food or medicine, go to the hospital or go to work.
National police chief Jose Angel Gonzalez said there was "a rising trend" in the number of people defying the stay-home order, warned that police were operating with a policy of "zero tolerance".
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14 injured as J-K protests Khamenei's killing; several curbs imposed to maintain order
Srinagar (PTI): At least 14 people, including six security personnel, were injured on the second day of protests that erupted in Jammu and Kashmir following the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli attack, officials said.
Authorities have imposed restrictions to curb people's movement, shut down education institutes and throttled mobile internet speeds in the Union territory as precautionary measures.
Officials said that 75 rallies were held at various places in the Kashmir Valley, while a few demonstrations were held in the Jammu region as well. Security forces had to use mild force to disperse the protesters in some areas.
Protests broke out in Bemina, Gund Hassibhat, Saidakadal, Nigeen, Foreshore Road and Jehangir Chowk areas of Srinagar city, in the Pulwama town of south Kashmir, and Budgam in central Kashmir -- all of which have a large Shia population, as agitators marched through the streets, raising anti-US and anti-Israel slogans.
While most of the protests were by and large peaceful, clashes erupted at a few places, forcing the security forces personnel to use mild force to disperse the protestors, the officials said.
They said 14 persons -- eight protestors and six security forces personnel -- were injured during these clashes in the Kashmir valley.
Severe restrictions had been placed on the movement of people in parts of Kashmir. The curbs were imposed against the backdrop of a call for a one-day strike given by Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulama (MMU) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
He had urged people to observe the strike "with unity, dignity, and in peace".
The authorities had sealed Ghanta Ghar at Lal Chowk with barricades erected all around it, while a large number of police and paramilitary CRPF personnel were deployed across the city to prevent gatherings of protestors, officials said.
They added that concertina wires and barricades were placed at important intersections leading into the city while asserting that these were precautionary measures imposed to maintain law and order.
The authorities also closed all educational institutions for two days, as a precautionary measure for the safety of students and to maintain law and order. Similar curbs were imposed in Shia-dominated areas in other districts of the Kashmir valley. Mobile internet speeds were also throttled across Kashmir.
The MMU's strike call was supported by several political parties, including PDP president Mehbooba Mufti.
"Extending our full support and solidarity with the shutdown call of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on the martyrdom of Iran's supreme leader. This is a day of mourning to remind the world that injustice anywhere wounds the entire Muslim Ummah and all who stand for truth," she said.
Police issued an advisory urging all media organisations and news platforms to exercise the highest level of responsibility and professionalism in their reporting.
"Please refrain from publishing unverified information, speculation, or rumours; ensure that all reports are confirmed through credible and authoritative sources before dissemination; and avoid sensational headlines that may create unnecessary panic," the advisory read.
In the Jammu region, a partial strike was observed in Kishtwar and Doda districts of the Chenab valley region, with groups of people holding peaceful protests to condemn the killing of Iran's supreme leader.
The law and order situation across the region remained peaceful by and large, with no untoward incident reported from anywhere, the officials said.
Most of the shops and business establishments remained closed in both Kishtwar and Doda district headquarters and in other major towns in response to separate bandh calls given by religious leaders to protest the alleged aggression of the US and Israel.
The Imam of Jamia Masjid Kishtwar, Moulvi Farooq Ahmad Kachloo, also led a protest rally from the place of worship to the nearby bus stand, the officials said, adding that the protesters chanted slogans against the US and Israel before dispersing peacefully.
Reports of protests were also received from Bounjwa, Drabshall and Chatroo in Kishtwar, Gandoh and Bhaderwah in Doda, they said.
In Ramban district, which also falls in the Chenab Valley region, Shia mourners organised special prayers at Chanderkote for the second day to pay homage to Khamenei and others who lost their lives in the US-Israel attacks.
The Muslim community also held protests at different places in the Rajouri and Poonch districts. Several Muslim organisations have called for a Rajouri bandh on Tuesday after a joint meeting at the local Jamia masjid.
The president of the Islamic Welfare Organisation, Rajouri, Shafqat Mir, said the present situation is quite worrisome and the US, as well as Israel, have crossed all limits of humanity by directly targeting Iran and killing the supreme leader.
Protests and mourning assemblies for Khamenei were also held in the Kargil district of the Union Territory of Ladakh. A large number of Shia mourners assembled at the Hussaini Park in Kargil to take part in the protest.
