Spain has recorded its lowest daily death toll from the novel coronavirus in 17 days, with 605 people dying, the government said on Friday.

The figures showed the death rate is slowing to four percent, down from just under four percent on Thursday in line with a trend which began on March 25 when it stood at over 27 per cent.

The rate of infection also slowed, with 4,576 new cases over the past 24 hours, while the number of people who recovered from the virus rose to 55,688.

The overall number of fatalities is now at 15,843 in Spain, which has suffered one of the worst outbreaks of COVID-19 in the world, and where the total number of confirmed cases now stands at 157,022.