This photo shows the general view of Barcelona during a national lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus. AFP

The number of deaths from the coronavirus in Spain in 24 hours fell again on Wednesday to 523 from 567 reported the previous day, the country's health ministry said.

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The daily death toll brought the total number of fatalities to 18,579.

The overall number of cases in the country rose to 177,633 on Wednesday from 172,541 the day before.

A woman applauds from her home in support of healthcare workers in Ronda, Spain. File/Reuters

Meanwhile, US coronavirus deaths set a single-day record on Tuesday, a grim milestone as the country debated how to reopen its economy and as Spain and Austria allowed partial returns to work but the UK, France and India extended lockdowns.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that infections had "certainly" not yet peaked.

Nearly 2 million people globally have been infected and more than 124,000 have died in the most serious pandemic in a century, according to a Reuters tally. The epicentre has shifted from China, where the virus emerged in December, to the United States, which has now recorded the most deaths.

Reuters