Coronavirus cases top 33,000 in Spain with death toll nearing 2,200

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases climbed to 33,089 in Spain Monday, up from 28,572 a day earlier, according to the daily figures released by the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus fatalities has risen to 2,182, up from 1,720 on Sunday, the figures showed.

The Health Ministry also reports that 2,355 coronavirus patients are now being treated in intensive care units throughout Spain.

The number of Spaniards who have recovered has risen to 3,355 on Monday, a sharp improvement from 2,575 on Sunday.

The tally came a day after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez explained to the nation that he was seeking a 15-day extension on the State of Alarm he originally decreed on March 14.

The extension is expected to be approved by a cabinet meeting Tuesday and passed by the Congress of Deputies, the lower house in the Spanish parliament, on Wednesday.

One person likely to miss Tuesday's cabinet meeting is Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo, who has been taken to hospital because of a respiratory infection and is undergoing tests for the coronavirus, the government has confirmed.