MADRID Spain’s coronavirus fatalities rose by a record 832 people overnight to 5,690 as hospitals and morgues were overwhelmed and a police chief fought back tears announcing a colleague’s death. Second only to Italy in fatalities, Spain also saw infections rise to 72,248 on Saturday from 64,059 the day before. Health emergency chief Fernando Simon said the epidemic appeared to be reaching its peak in some areas, but the nation was short of intensive care unit beds. “We continue to have a major problem with ICU saturation,” said Simon. As Spain prepared to enter its third week of lockdown, an unused public building known as “the doughnut” was the latest to be turned into a makeshift morgue after a city ice rink last week, Spanish media including El Pais newspaper reported. Civil Guard chief Jose Manuel Santiago became emotional as he paid homage to the head of his organization’s rapid action group, who died of the coronavirus on Friday.
