Library becomes ICU for coronavirus patients in Spain

As Spain's virus infections broke the 100,000 mark, a hospital in the northeastern region of Catalonia has been forced to turn its library into an Intensive Care Unit to deal with the influx of COVID-19 patients in critical condition.

Health workers at the Germans Trias i Pujol hospital outside Barcelona are struggling to get their hands on the appropriate protective gear and improvising with plastic aprons instead.

A brand-new area of this hospital originally built for heart surgery patients to recover in was also turned into a COVID-19 ICU before it was even inaugurated.

Spanish health authorities said Wednesday the country registered a new record of 864 deaths in one day and that the total number of deaths reached 9,053 since the beginning of the outbreak.

Total infections hit 102,136 cases.

But the 24-hour increase of 7,719 was 1,500 fewer than the increase from the previous day, offering hope that the contagion rate is stabilizing.

For most people the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.