Spain death toll breaches 20,000 as COVID-19 rampage continues in Europe

Three other worst affected nations

In the UK, which reported 888 new deaths in hospitals, the COVID-19 death toll crossed the 15,000 mark to reach 15,464, the Department of Health and Social Care said Saturday.

Meanwhile, 114,217 people have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Saturday morning, marking a daily increase of 5,526, said the department.

The figures were announced amid growing concerns over a serious shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline medical staff in hospitals.

Public Health England on Friday changed its guidance, which includes asking doctors and nurses to reserve the gowns for surgical operations and procedures that are likely to transmit respiratory pathogens and to reuse items such as surgical gowns.

Across the English Channel, France reported a further 642 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the country's death toll to 19,323.

In Germany, the COVID-19 death toll rose to 4,110 after reporting 242 new deaths in 24 hours. The country staggered the rest of the world with an impressively low "case fatality rate," which is the number of deaths divided by the total number of confirmed cases.

As of Saturday morning, Germany's confirmed cases rose by 3,609 in the past 24 hours to a total of 137,439, which entailed a "case fatality rate" of just under 3 percent.