MADRID: Thousands of health workers marched in Madrid on Sunday in support of Spain's public health system, sorely put to the test by the coronavirus. With Spain one of the European countries hardest hit by the pandemic, some protesters waved placards bearing slogans such as "100 percent public health" and "no more rubbish contracts".

Organisers said roughly 10,000 people answered the call to demonstrate by the "Marea Blanca" (white tide) group, which is determined to put pressure on regional authorities they say are starving the system of sufficient investment.

Nurse Lara Garcia told AFP TV she wanted to highlight a reliance on temporary workers as well as low wages.

"Forty, 45 percent of staff are temporary, the salaries are lower than in other autonomous regions," said Garcia, highlighting that people were leaving the profession in droves.

More than 44,000 people have died from the virus in Spain from more than 1.6 million cases.