Spain recorded more than 730 new coronavirus deaths in one day, meaning it has now surpassed the death toll in China

REUTERS/Juan Medina

Police stand next to a mortuary car, carrying the corpse of a person who died of coronavirus, at the entrance of an ice rink used as a morgue in Madrid, Spain, March 24, 2020.

• Spain recorded 738 new deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday.
• The total death toll is now 3,434, meaning Spain overtakes China, who have recorded 3,281 deaths.
• China has nearly double the number of infections as Spain, but a similar death toll.
• Spanish public services are struggling to contain the virus from spreading. Private hospitals have been nationalized and ice rinks and conference centers transformed into morgues and hospitals.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Spain announced more than 700 new deaths from the coronavirus, surpassing the total number of fatalities in China.

The death toll climbed to 3,434 from 2,696 on Wednesday after 738 new deaths were reported, according to Spain's Ministry of Health.

As of Wednesday, China has confirmed 3,285 deaths and 81,661 total infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Spain's infection count now stands at 47,610, showing that it's experiencing a fatality rate nearly double that of China. The death toll in Italy - 6,820 - surpassed that of China long ago.

Carlos Gil/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Camino de Ronda in Granada, Spain.

Spain's public services are struggling to keep up with the rising number of cases. 3,668 new infections were recorded on Monday and 6,922 more on Tuesday, government data shows.

Spain first enforced a lockdown on March 14, and all private hospitals were nationalized soon after on March 16. On Thursday, hotels and camping sites were shuttered by government order.

Members of Spain's military, deployed to disinfect care homes around the country, have found elderly residents "completely abandoned," with some left dead in their beds.

On Wednesday, Jose Angel Gonzalez a top chief with Spain's National Police, said people admitted to hospital for coronavirus treatment were fleeing before doctors had approved their discharge, "putting lives at risk," according to Metro.

Susana Vera/Reuters

Healthcare workers are pictured at the entrance of the emergency unit at La Paz hospital during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain March 23, 2020

In Madrid this week, a conference center was turned into a field hospital, and an ice rink into a makeshift morgue.

Police are using drones equipped with speakerphones to enforce the curfew, footage published by BBC News on Sunday.

Get the latest coronavirus analysis and research from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is impacting businesses.

NOW WATCH: 4 potential coronavirus treatments that researchers are working on right now