The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in Spain surpassed 10,000 after a record 950 people died overnight, the highest number of deaths in a single day in the country since the outbreak began. Total death toll caused by the disease was 10,003 while the number of cases registered rose to 110,238 from 102,136 on Wednesday, Spain's health ministry said. Spain's grim milestone comes after the United Kingdom and the United States also reported their highest number of deaths in a single day since the start of the pandemic. The US has recorded 884 coronavirus deaths, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. It has also confirmed more than 213,000 cases of the disease. As the epidemic takes a heavy toll on the physical health of the Spaniards, it is also hitting them hard economically with the country losing almost 900,000 jobs since it imposed strict measures to fight the coronavirus. March's figure is the highest monthly rise in unemployment ever recorded in the country, which already had one of the eurozone's highest jobless rates. The data shows 898,822 people have now lost their jobs since the start of the lockdown, including about 550,000 temporary workers. Spain's official unemployment figure rose to 3.5 million, the highest level since April 2017, according to a Reuters report. "This is an absolutely unprecedented situation," Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz told a news conference. The tourism and construction sectors were the hardest hit. — Agencies
