Coronavirus death toll rises to 22,157 in Spain

Spain has recorded 440 new deaths overnight for the new coronavirus, bringing the total confirmed fatalities to 22,157, according to an official data on Thursday.

With more than 4,600 new positive infections tested, the reported cases are now over 200,000, although the real number is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested and studies suggest that people can be infected without feeling sick.

On Thursday, a new genetic study published by the Carlos III Institute, Spain's main epidemiology research centre, suggested that the new coronavirus was spreading in the country since mid-February, weeks before the first local contagion clusters were identified.

The country was celebrating an atypical World Book Day on Thursday, which is marked in the United Kingdom and Spain on the date in 1616 of the death of William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes, but this year away from outdoor bookstands.

In Barcelona, where the tradition brings people to gift each other a rose and a book to mark the patron saint of Catalonia, St George, the Red Cross is delivering books to hundreds of children.