Spain hits COVID-19 milestone, first in Western Europe

Spain on Tuesday hit a COVID-19 milestone, posting over 500,000 cases of infections.

`The grim milestone was reached following a renewed surge of the virus, especially after the schools re-opened.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases now stand at 525,549, according to latest government data. The number was 498,989 on Friday.

The death toll is 29,516.

In the grim ranking, the country is No.9 in the world, next to Mexico, with 637,509 cases, but higher number of fatalities, at 67,781.

UK is the second worst affected country in western Europe, with 350,100 cases and 41,554 deaths.

It is ranked 13th in the world, according to figures published by worldometers.info.

Russia however leads the entire Europe with 1,035,789 cases and close to 18,000 deaths.