Spain Passes China in Number of Infections

By Staff, Agencies

Spain Monday became the third country to surpass China in infections after the United States and Italy.

With a population of only 47 million to China's 1.4 billion, Spain’s tally of infections reached 85,195 Monday, a rise of 8% from the previous day.

The country also reported 812 new deaths in the last day, raising its overall fatalities from the virus to 7,300.

The health systems in Italy and Spain have been crumbling under the weight of caring for so many desperately ill patients at once. The two European nations have more than half the world's 34,000 deaths from the virus that has upended the lives of billions of people and devastated world economies.

In a situation unimaginable only a month ago, Italian officials were cheered when they reported only 756 deaths in one day on Sunday.