By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Officials in Spain are now reporting nearly 30,000 coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19 cases as Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez decided Sunday to extend the state of emergency in the country.

The autonomous communities of Madrid (9,702), Catalonia (4,704) and Basque Country (2,097) continue to report the most cases.

More than 1,800 deaths have been reported in Spain.

Pedro Sánchez has appeared in La Moncloa after holding a videoconference with the presidents of the autonomous communities and cities, to whom he has communicated the decision to extend the current state of emergency throughout the national territory for another fifteen days.

“It is a drastic measure, one of the most drastic of those adopted by the countries around us. I know that it is very uncomfortable for the whole of Spanish citizens and that it is completely affecting the lives of families, but experts agree on that is effective in the fight against the coronavirus,” he said.

Other measures to be implemented in Spain include all trips made from third countries will be restricted for thirty days and are not essential, placing more resources for nursing homes, expanding the activities of the military and providing resources to municipalities for the delivery of food and basic necessities and pharmaceuticals to their homes, so that older people do not have to leave their homes.

Lastly, the Ministry of Health distributed this to the Autonomous Communities a total of 1,602,800 masks for patients and health professionals this weekend. In addition, Health has reinforced the processes of acquisition of this medical product through new purchases of much more numerous items, which will arrive in Spain over the next week.