Spain reported 49,802 new cases of COVID-19 and 103 deaths for the 72-hour period until Monday, the country’s health ministry said.

The total number of confirmed cases in Spain has risen to 53,39,992, while 88,484 people have now lost their lives to the virus.

The cumulative incidence in Spain has also risen sharply over the past three days, climbing 58 points to 381.26 cases per 1,00,000 inhabitants since Friday.

Last week, the country approved COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged five to 11 amid a rise in infections.

Monday saw the arrival of the first batch of 1.36 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine specially adapted for children in this age group.

The doses will be distributed among 17 autonomous communities, with the vaccination program starting on Wednesday.

The ministry also confirmed that the Delta variant of the virus currently makes up 97 percent of all cases in Spain, although an increasing number of cases of the Omicron variant are now being reported in the country. (ANI/Xinhua)