Spain on Tuesday declared a 10-day mourning period to commemorate the almost 27,000 people who died from COVID-19.
Spain emerged as an early European epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak and has been one of the hardest hit countries by the pandemic.
The country has reported 235,400 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, and 150,376 have recovered.
The mourning period will begin Wednesday and will conclude with a memorial ceremony led by King Felipe IV, government spokesperson Maris Jesus Montero told Reuters Tuesday.
Flags will fly at half-mast over navy ships and every public building during the nearly two-week period.
