The coronavirus pandemic brought the number of traffic accident fatalities last year in Spain to its lowest since records started in 1960 as restrictions on businesses and individuals to curb the spread of the virus reduced car trips, Interior Ministry data showed on Thursday.
The number of people dying in 2020 from car accidents fell by 870, or 21 percent, while 3,463 people were seriously injured, the ministry said on Thursday, adding that no fatalities were reported in the country on 59 days of the year.
“This reduction is a consequence of the [health] crisis and the mobility restrictions. The state of alert has generated a halt on the economic activity, which, linked with other factors like home working, explains a decrease of traffic and the reduction of accident rate,” Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters.
THURSDAY, JAN. 7 BERLIN – German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will make a statement on the turmoil in Washington, where hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol – 0930 GMT. ANKARA – Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca holds talks with World Health Organisation Europe Director Hans Kluge about vaccination developments and chairs a meeting of the country’s coronavirus science board – 1400 GMT. JOHANNESBURG – South Africa Health Minister Zweli Mkhize briefs parliament’s health committee on the state of the country’s COVID-19 epidemic and vaccine rollout plans – 0700 GMT. MADRID – Spain’s Health Minister Salvador Illa holds news conference following health ministry meeting – 1000 GMT. ANKARA – Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama pays an official visit to Turkey to hold talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. The two will discuss bilateral ties and ways to boost cooperation, as well as regional and international
Coronavirus toll at 11:00 (GMT) Thursday
Paris – The novel coronavirus has killed at least 1
818 946 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to
a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 11:00 (GMT).
At least 83 381 330 cases of coronavirus have been
registered. Of these, at least 52 534 200 are now considered recovered.
These figures are based on daily tolls provided by
health authorities in each country and excludes later re-evaluations by
statistical organisations, as has happened in Russia, Spain and Britain.
On Thursday, 13 629 new deaths and 728 621 new
cases were recorded worldwide.
Based on the latest reports, the countries with the
most new deaths were the United States with 3 426 new deaths, followed by