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HEALTH

Spain’s daily coronavirus death toll continues to fall

Spain registered a fall in its daily death toll from the new coronavirus for a third consecutive day on Saturday with 510 people dying, the government said.

Published: 11 April 2020 14:02 CEST
Spain's daily coronavirus death toll continues to fall
A man walks past Spanish flags with black ribbons to pay tribute to the coronavirus victims hanging on balconies in Madrid. Photo: GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP

It was the smallest daily increase since March 23 in Spain, which is suffering one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the world.

The update for the last 24 hours raised the country's overall number of fatalities to 16,353 and the number of confirmed cases another 4,800 to 161,852.

Masks will be handed out at metro and train stations from Monday as some companies re-open after a two-week “hibernation” period, the health minister said Friday.

Although health chiefs say the pandemic has peaked, they have urged the population to strictly follow the national lockdown which was put in place on March 14 in order to slow the spread of the virus.

The restrictions will remain in place until April 25 although the government has made clear it expects to announce another two-week extension.

Spain toughened its nationwide lockdown on March 30, halting all non-essential activities until after Easter as it sought to further curb the spread of the virus.

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HEALTH

Are Danes cutting back on cigarettes and alcohol?

Danish stores sold a significantly lower quantity of alcohol and cigarettes over the counter last year, new data from Statistics Denmark show.

Published: 14 June 2024 07:42 CEST
Are Danes cutting back on cigarettes and alcohol?

Some 3,852 cigarettes were sold year, which amounts to 804 per person over the age of 18. But that compares to a figures of 854 per person on 2022.

Cigarette sales in Denmark have been declining since 2018.

Sales of sprits, beer and wine fell by 7.8 percent, 5.3 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.

Danish business sold the equivalent of 44.4 million litres of pure alcohol, which works out at 11.9 units per week on average for each person over the age of 18.

Although that is a lower value than in 2022, it still exceeds the amount recommended by the Danish Health Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen).

The Health Authority recommends that adults over 18 drink no more than 10 units per week and no more than four in a single day.

READ ALSO: Should Denmark raise the minimum age for buying alcohol?

“The numbers are still too high and it’s an average that could have a skewed distribution,” University of Southern Denmark professor, Janne Tholstrup, said in relation to the alcohol sales figures. Tholstrup has published research on Denmark’s alcohol culture.

That is in spite of a 30-year-trend of falling alcohol consumption, according to the professor.

“The majority of Danes stay under the recommended 10 unite per week. That means there is a large group with a persistently excessive consumption of alcohol,” she said.

The Statistics Denmark figures also show that sales of loose tobacco – such as the type used in roll-up cigarettes and pipes – also fell last year. Some 58 tonnes less were sold compared to 2022.

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