SPAIN HAS RECORED 523 new deaths from the coronavirus, a decline from the previous day, but at the same time as the number of new daily confirmed cases increased by more than 5,000.

The new deaths reported by the health ministry take the total number of fatalities to 18,579 – officially third in the world behind the United States and Italy.

The number of new confirmed infections rose by 5,092, or 3%, to 177,633, the biggest daily increase in the number of cases since 9 April.

Health authorities say Spain has overcome the peak of the coronavirus, after registering its highest daily death toll of 950 people on 2 April, but warn against relaxing restrictions on the movement of people to curb the spread of the virus.

Spain on 14 March imposed one of the tightest lockdowns in Europe, with people in the nation of around 47 million people allowed outside only to go to work when they can’t do so from home, buy food, seek medical care and briefly walk their dog.

The government tightened the restrictions on 30 March by freezing all non-essential activities like construction and manufacturing for two weeks in a so-called “economic hibernation” – a measure that was lifted on Monday.

“We adopted difficult measures which are effective, which protect and save lives,” Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said during a debate in parliament today.

“As a result of this confinement, I am convinced that Spaniards will shortly recover a bit of normality… a new normality because nothing will be the same until a vaccine is found,” he added in response to criticism from the right over his handling of the pandemic.

The government estimates that about 67% of Spaniards are adhering strictly to the lockdown and hardly ever go outside since it was imposed.