Daily COVID-19 deaths in Spain, France and Italy continues to fall

Italy, on the same day, registered 681 deaths having reported 766 deaths the day before.

The number who have died in Spain now has reached 12,418. The number reported as having died in Italy on Saturday was 15,362 with 7,560 in France.

Despite the lockdown appearing to reduce the number of daily deaths, authorities have made it clear they have no immediate intention of lifting the restrictions.

Mr Sanchez said on Saturday he would ask parliament to extend his country’s lockdown by 15 days until 26 April.

He added a team of experts was also studying how restrictions could be gradually loosened to react to the country’s economy.

Meanwhile, Italy’s virus-ravaged Lombardy region is now requiring residents to wear a protective mask when they go outside.

In Germany, which has been reporting a lower fatality rate than other European countries, the official toll rose by 184 to 1,342.

But, health authorities reported that the number of new infections rose by 5,936 in the past 24 hours to 91,714 on Sunday, the third straight drop in the daily rate of new cases.