The coronavirus death toll in Spain has climbed to 3,434, surpassing China in overall number of deaths.

Spain recorded 738 deaths in the past 24 hours, its deadliest toll in a single day. It is now the second country in the world with the highest number of deaths from Covid-19, behind Italy.

China says it recorded 3,287 deaths, while Italy's death toll stands at more than 6,800.

The overall number of cases in Spain increased by 20 percent to 47,610 from 39,673 on Tuesday, said Spain's Ministry of Health.

The outbreak has hit Spain hard, putting its fragile healthcare system under immense strain, especially in the central region around Madrid, with one third of the positive cases and roughly half of the casualties.

Madrid city hall turned an ice rink at the Palacio de Hielo shopping centre into a temporary morgue to deal with the surge in deaths.

Spanish authorities have also set up a field hospital in the capital’s Ifema congress centre as the country’s health service has struggled to deal with the number of cases.

Earlier this week, the country's defence ministry said elderly people were being found abandoned and dead in their own homes by soldiers who were drafted to help in the fight against the highly contagious virus.

Spanish defence minister, Margarita Robles, said the government would not tolerate mistreatment of older people in retirement homes during the crisis. Spanish prosecutors said an investigation had been launched into the incident.

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According to the World Health Organisation, the estimated global mortality rate stood at 3.4 percent. As for the death rate in China, the country's National Health Commission said in early February the national mortality rate was 2.1 percent of confirmed coronavirus cases.