Spain's daily coronavirus death toll drops to 288

Spanish health authorities confirmed on Sunday that 23,190 people in the country have lost their lives because of the coronavirus, after reporting 288 new deaths in the 24-hour period until 2100 hours local time on Saturday.

The daily figure is 90 fewer than the 378 deaths reported a day earlier. It is also the first time the daily death toll has fallen below 300 since the height of the pandemic, according to the Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Services.

The ministry also confirmed 1,729 new cases via PCR tests (polymerase chain reaction) -- which check if the coronavirus is active in the body, taking the total detected by such tests to 207,634.

The daily figure is considerably lower than the 2,915 new infections reported on Saturday, representing a daily increase of less than one percent.

Meanwhile, the number of patients who have recovered rose by 3,024 to 98,732.

From Sunday, children aged under 14 in Spain were allowed out for an hour a day as part of the easing of restrictions imposed by the State of Alarm, which has been in effect since March 15.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday that if the number of new cases continues to fall, adults will be permitted to carry out "individual exercise" outdoors from May 2.