Coronavirus: 12-year-old becomes youngest known person to die in Europe as Spain's new infections jump to 9,222

Just when Spain was beginning to think it may have passed the very worst of this crisis, they have been hit by a terrible day for new coronavirus infections - with more than 9,000 new cases in just 24 hours.

That is roughly 50% higher than any daily figure ever seen in Italy, and will be deeply depressing for those working in the health care system.

Italy has new infections essentially stable, definitely a good sign, while France and the UK have both had their worst day yet in terms of the numbers dying from Covid-19.

A Covid-19 patient being administered treatment in a hospital. Credit: AP

Spain

The figures from Spain, having looked as if they might be improving slightly on Monday, have taken another nasty turn for the worse - with the highest single day death toll so far of 849.

Worse still, new infections jumped by 9,222.

In contrast Italy’s worst ever day for new infections was 6,557 ten days ago.

As always it is important not to read too much into any single day’s figures - there are many variables that can skew a single 24 hour period, but even so days like today will have a terrible effect on the morale of those in frontline medicine there.

Spain has seen it's biggest spike yet in new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. Credit: AP

Italy

Another bad daily death toll for Italy with 839 more fatalities in the last 24 hours.

But deaths tend to be a lagging indicator, reflecting infections some days ago.

More encouraging are the numbers being infected, essentially the same as Monday at 4,503 and around 50% below their daily peak.

It takes more than a few days to establish a trend, but these figures are beginning to look encouraging.

Italy coronavirus figures are starting to appear as if it is slowing. Credit: AP

France

Like the UK, France has had its worst day yet, with 418 dead in the last 24 hours, taking their total death toll above 3,000.

Both countries' graphs are tracking those in Italy and Spain, strongly suggesting that significantly worse is still to come, with the peak still a way off.

Belgium

Belgium has seen the youngest victim yet of coronavirus in Europe, with a 12-year-old girl tragically dying there on Tuesday.

It’s not known if there were underlying health issues in this case, but it shows all too starkly that, while deaths among the young are rare, they are far from unknown.

The EU continues to be wracked by an internal argument over whether the costs of recovering from this crisis should be shared equally, or whether it is to be each country on their own.

France has seen it's worst day yet in terms of coronavirus deaths. Credit: AP

Southern European countries would like the Eurozone to issue "corona-bonds", under which the burden of borrowing would be shared.

In the north, Germany, the Netherlands et al. want nothing to do with it.

Things are getting more heated, with Italy reminding Germany that after the war, their debts were largely forgiven.

The Dutch have countered with the question: "Why did you have nothing put aside to cope with such an emergency?" A dialogue of the deaf at the moment.

Coronavirus: Everything you need to know