Spain's daily COVID-19 deaths dip below 100

A soldier stands in a temporary hospital set up in Barcelona. /AFP

Spain's daily COVID-19 death toll has dropped below a hundred for the first time in two months.

Authorities said on Sunday that 87 people had died with the disease in the past 24 hours, a significant decline from the over 900 fatalities a day during the country's peak.

The latest daily death toll is also the lowest recorded since March 16.

Fernando Simon, head of health emergency coordination in Spain, warned that the latest figures could be affected by a delay in recording deaths due to the "weekend effect", but assured a downward trend was still in progress.

Spain is one of the worst affected countries globally by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country has registered more than 230,000 infections and over 27,000 deaths, according to U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

As the pandemic rages on, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez has revealed his plans to seek parliament approval for another extension to the national emergency - which he hopes will be the last of its kind in place until the end of June.

He has also highlighted the need to reopen the vital tourism sector that accounts for 12 percent of the country's GDP.

"Spain needs tourism," Mr Sanchez said, adding: "But tourism needs security. It needs health guarantees."

Source(s): Sky News