Spain sees sharp cases rise just as schools reopen

Spain has now officially more than half a million confirmed coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic. With more than eight million undergraduate students heading to school starting from Monday, the Director of the Coordination Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies said the country needed to be alert and vigilant.

The health ministry on Monday reported 26,560 new infections. A total of 29,516 people have died in Spain as a result of the virus, according to official figures, although the real death toll is believed to be much higher.