Pedro Sánchez has extended the state of emergency for another 15 days due to the increasing number of deaths and infections from the coronavirus. The extension will now take the measures in Spain to Easter Sunday.

Sánchez has communicated the decision of the Executive to all regional Presidents during a video conference this morning but he will still need the authorization of the Congress of Deputies , according to the Constitution.

The decision to extend was made following publication of the latest figures which, in Spain, have risen by 3,646 overnight and now total 28,572. The number of fatalities has risen from 1,300 to 1,720.

In an address on Saturday night the Prime Minister told the nation “Unfortunately, the worst is to come,” as he warned that Spain’s number of deaths and diagnosed cases would continue to rise. “We have yet to feel the impact of the hardest, most damaging phase that will test to the limit our moral and material capacity.”