Spanish Princess Maria Teresa becomes 1st royal to die from COVID-19

London: Princess Maria Teresa of Spain has died after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first royal victim of the disease, it was reported.

The Princess, who was King of Spain Felipe VI's cousin, died aged 86 in Paris on Friday, the London-based Metro newspaper said in a report on Saturday.

Her younger brother Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma announced her demise, as the death toll in Spain increased to 5,982, now the second highest in the world after Italy (10,023).

Also Read: Prince Charles Tests Positive For Novel Coronavirus

Princess Maria Teresa, of the Bourbon-Parma Royal Family, was born in Paris, France on July 28, 1933 to Prince Xavier and Madeleine de Bourbon.

Her death comes the UK's Prince Charles also tested positive for coronavirus.

The Prince of Wales has "mild symptoms" of COVID-19, but otherwise remains in good health, a spokesperson said last week.

Also last week, Monaco's Prince Albert II tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

A week earlier, the Archduke of Austria Karl von Habsburg became the first royal to test positive for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Spain has directed all non-essential workers to stay home for the next two weeks, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, as the government extended measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus throughout the country.

At a cabinet meeting on Sunday, the government will approve the "exceptional" measures ahead of the Easter celebrations, known in Spain as Holy Week, that start on April 5. The new restrictions will be in place until at least April 9, reports Efe news.

"We are doing this now because we're about to enter the Easter holidays, so we can more aggressively cut down on social contacts and, therefore, hospital admissions and the pressure on Intensive Care Units," Sanchez told a press conference on Saturday.

The new restrictions were announced after authorities confirmed the deaths of 832 coronavirus patients in the last 24 hours, a record daily death toll in the country.

Already the second deadliest global hotspot after Italy, Spain's health ministry said the total number of deaths now stood at 5,960. Some 769 Covid-19 patients died between Thursday and Friday.

Also Read: Covid-19 Outbreak: Italy’s Death Toll Crosses 10,000

Spain is the fourth worst-hit nation in the world in terms of confirmed cases after Italy, the US and China.

The government also said it was preparing further lockdown measures in case the number of infections fails to slow.

Currently, Spaniards are only allowed to leave their house to buy food and pharmaceuticals, tend to dependent relatives or go to doctors appointments.

(IANS)