Deaths, confirmed coronavirus cases rise in Spain after dip

Spain on Tuesday reported a renewed rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths, after several days of declines, as its backlog of weekend tests and fatalities related to the disease were finally confirmed.

The country’s health ministry reported 743 deaths in the past 24 hours, dozens more than the numbers reported on Sunday and Monday combined, The Associated Press reports.

Almost 5,500 new cases were also reported on Tuesday, over 1,000 more than on Monday.

As of Tuesday morning, Spain has the second highest number of confirmed cases of the virus, behind the United States, with over 140,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The European nation has suffered more than 13,700 deaths from the disease.

The Spanish government reportedly wants to test 30,000 households to draw a national map of the outbreak. Specifically, it wants to more accurately track how the virus has spread outside of hospitals and nursing homes, which have been hotspots for the illness.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to have new economic aid approved by his Cabinet on Tuesday, according to the news service. The aid would give subsidies to the country’s farmers and would allow them to temporarily hire migrant workers to harvest crops.