By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Spain’s Ministry of Health reported another 2,000 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the country total to 11,178.

The coronavirus related fatalities close in on 500 with 491 officially reported.

Image/Robert Herriman

Madrid and Catalonia account for more than 6,000 of Spain’s cases.

The Ministry of Health also reported that they started the distribution of more than a million surgical masks among the Autonomous Communities. Madrid is the community that will receive the greatest number because it is also the region with the highest number of positives.

This afternoon a cargo plane from Shanghai (China) arrived at Zaragoza airport with 500,000 masks that have been donated and will be distributed in the next few hours. In addition, between yesterday and today, other items have been distributed that, in total, add up to 546,000 more masks.

Likewise, the Ministry of Health maintains a centralized purchase of all kinds of sanitary material to face the fight against the coronavirus.

The European Union will close its borders to all non-essential travel as it attempts to contain the ongoing spread of the coronavirus on the continent.

“The less travel, the more we can contain the virus,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday following a video conference between G7 leaders. She appeared confident that the European Council would sign off on the restriction in a Tuesday vote.