LONDON – Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved out of an intensive care unit where he was being treated for coronavirus to a regular hospital ward, his office said in a statement Thursday, as the condition of Britain's leader continues to improve.

The statement from Downing Street said Johnson, 55, is receiving "close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery." Earlier, the prime minister's spokesman said Johnson had a "good night" in the hospital and was in "extremely good spirits."

Coronavirus live updates:Stimulus checks on the way; New York's outbreak may have come from Europe; US death toll nears 15,000

Johnson is being cared for in St Thomas' Hospital in central London. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 26 and still had a cough and fever 10 days later.

He was admitted to the hospital on Sunday, and to its ICU on Monday.

Johnson is the first major world leader known to have contracted coronavirus.

"Great News," President Donald Trump tweeted shortly after Downing Street's Thursday announcement. "Get well Boris!!!

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is standing for Johnson while he is hospitalized.

Raab chaired a meeting Thursday that assessed Britain's national lockdown measures and aimed to determine when some of the restrictions can be eased.

"We are starting to see the impact of the sacrifices we've all made," Raab said in the meeting. "Let's not ruin it now," he added, indicating that the lockdown was likely to go on for some weeks until Britain moves beyond its peak in coronavirus infections.

Britain's death toll reached 7,978 as of Thursday, according to Public Health England, an increase of 881 from 24 hours earlier.

Elsewhere in Europe, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he thinks his country has now reached the peak of its coronavirus infections. But he said any return to normal life would only happen gradually and he asked Spain's Parliament to approve his request to extend the country's state of emergency until April 26.

"The climb has been difficult, as the descent will also be," he said, referring to Spain's 150,000 infections and 15,000 deaths. "We are facing the biggest threat to the planet's public health since the flu of 1918. The last thing we should allow is a step backwards because that would be more than a setback, it would be a rebound" for the virus.

Spain reported 683 new coronavirus deaths on Thursday.

New infections and deaths in Italy in recents days have also declined.

Worldwide cases have now surpassed 1.5 million, with more than 94,000 deaths.