Spain begins 10 days of mourning coronavirus victims

Flags are flying at half-staff on more than 14,000 public buildings in Spain as the European nation holds its first of 10 days of national mourning for the victims of the coronavirus.

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Spanish King Felipe VI led a minute of silence held at noon local time on Wednesday for the more than 27,000 lives that have been confirmed to be lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and other lawmakers participated from the Parliament, while health workers and other citizens also stopped activity to honor the dead.

The 10-day period is the longest national mourning declared in Spain since the restoration of democracy in the late 1970s.

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Felipe VI, as Spain's head of state, is also planning to preside over a solemn ceremony to honor the dead once the country emerges from its strict lockdown rules.