Coronavirus death toll in Spain slows, with lowest increase in about a month

Spain's death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak rose by 410 on Sunday, down from 565 on Saturday, the Health Ministry said.

It is the lowest daily increase since March 22 in one of the world's hardest-hit countries.

The total number of deaths in Spain has reached 20,453.

Sunday's death toll is far below the highest daily increase - 950 deaths reported on April 2 - in a sign of a slowdown of the spread of the virus after Spain imposed a strict lockdown in mid-March.

The overall number of coronavirus cases rose to 195,944 on Sunday from 191,726 on Saturday, the Health Ministry added.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday he would ask parliament for a 15-day extension of the lockdown until May 9, but said the restrictions would be more flexible, such as allowing children to leave their homes for short periods of time.

Earlier. health staff from Spanish hospital of La Paz clapped after taking a minute of silence on Sunday (April 19) to remember the hospital's chief of surgery who died of coronavirus.

Dr. Joaquín Díaz Domínguez was 64 and died on Saturday (April 18) after getting infected from the virus at his own hospital in Madrid.