Spains death toll from the coronavirus has surpassed the official figure from China, becoming the second highest in the world.
Deaths have risen by 738 in just 24 hours to a total of 3,434 – a record spike for Spain.
In comparison, China has officially reported 3,285 deaths, while Italy – the worst affected country – has 6,820.
Spain's prime minister will later ask MPs to extend his countrys state of emergency for another two weeks.
Lawmakers are expected to agree to Pedro Sánchez's request for lockdown measures to stay in place until 11 April. Under the rules, people are banned from leaving home except for buying essential supplies and medicines, or for work.
Globally there are nearly 440,000 cases of the virus, with deaths approaching 20,000 and more than 100,000 people having recovered, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
On Wednesday the UN said the virus was "threatening the whole of humanity" as it launched a $2bn (ÂŁ1.7bn) appeal for the world's poorest people.
"Global action and solidarity are crucial. Individual country responses are not going to be enough," UN Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres said.
Whats the latest from Spain?
Figures released by the health ministry on Wednesday show that in just 24 hours, Spains national death toll rose by 738. Its number of cases soared by 7,973.
These are the highest figures for Spain in a single day. The country now has 47,610 confirmed cases.
Catalonia accounts for close to 10,000 of those, while the Basque Country and Andalusia both have more than 3,000 cases. But the worst affected region is the area around the capital Madrid, which has recorded 14,597 cases.
Madrids municipal funeral home announced on Tuesday it has stopped collecting victims of Covid-19 – the disease caused by the coronavirus – while the citys major ice rink will be used as a temporary mortuary.
On Monday, soldiers in Spain brought in to tackle the outbreak found retirement home patients abandoned and even dead in their beds.
The defence ministry said that staff at some care homes had left after the coronavirus was detected.
What is the situation across Europe?
There have been more than 435,000 confirmed cases worldwide. Europe is now the centre of the global outbreak.
Leaders of nine EU countries have called for the 27-member bloc to raise funds through a “common debt instrument” to tackle the pandemic.
"In particular, we need to work on a common debt instrument… to raise funds on the market on the same basis and to the benefits of all member states," said the letter, which was signed by the leaders of Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Portugal.
In other developments:
- Italy has increased punishments for breaking virus control measures, including fines of thousands of euros and five-year prison terms for anyone who tests positive and breaks their quarantine. Nearly 70,000 people have tested positive for the illness there
- On Tuesday, France became the fifth country to record more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths. Jerome Salomon, the country's top health official, has warned that the number could be even higher, as the 1,100 confirmed total only counts people who died in hospitals. Scientific advisers have called for the lockdown there to be extended from 15 days to six weeks – something health officials have not ruled out
- Russia's President Vladimir Putin has postpoRead More – Source
