OVIEDO, Spain

Spain’s death toll from coronavirus has surged to 767 amid more than 17,000 confirmed cases, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

On mid-day Wednesday, the government reported 558 deaths, showing a record one-day increase of 208 deaths.

The numbers suggest that approximately one person died every seven minutes in Spain of COVID-19 on average.

“We hope Spain will reach its peak of deaths in a few days,” said Fernando Simon, Spain’s emergency services director, in a televised press conference on Thursday, adding that the rise in numbers “does not mean we’re doing badly.”

The country also registered another