MADRID, March 19. /TASS/. At least 17,147 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Spain since the beginning of the outbreak in the country, Spain’s Ministry of Health reported on Thursday.

According to the ministry, 767 people have died and 1,107 patients have recovered. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health said that 13,716 people had contracted the virus and 558 patients died. The first coronavirus case in Spain was confirmed on January 31, the number of infected people began to grow after a local outbreak was reported in Italy.

On March 14, the Council of Ministers approved the decision to impose a high alert regime over the coronavirus outbreak. It will be in effect for 15 days, but can be extended, if the government approves that.

The current coronavirus illness was registered in central China at the end of December 2019. On March 11, the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic. COVID-19 infection cases have been recorded in more than 140 countries. According to the latest data, over 210,000 people have contracted the virus, about 8,500 of them have died. A total of 147 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia so far, one person has died.