Spain has recorded no coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours for the first time since the beginning of March, a senior health ministry spokesman said, according to AFP.

“Today we have received no deaths with the date of death from yesterday,” Fernando Simon, head of the Coordination Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies told journalists. The number of new cases had also fallen, he added.

Spain has recorded new deaths every day since March 3, though the first death from the virus in fact dates back to February 13.

Simon warned against any failure to respect the existing restrictions on mass gatherings, still in force despite a gradual relaxation of what was one of the world's strictest lockdowns.