Despite the latest rise, the figures are still roughly half the number of new cases and deaths around the turn of the month, suggesting that the outbreak is losing intensity. There were more than 9,000 new cases on March 31 and 950 new deaths on April 2.

The government is coming under increasing pressure to ease the restrictions on public life that have plunged the economy into deep recession.

For the time being, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his ministers have said that the current measures will be extended beyond an April 25 expiry date, that rules are likely to be eased on a sector-to-sector basis and that schools will probably remain closed until September.

In recent days, Spain has been ramping up testing. The administration's top scientific adviser on the pandemic, Fernando Simon, said Thursday that daily tests have doubled to around 40,000. He acknowledged that gauging the real number of fatalities is "difficult."

There is growing scrutiny of the health ministry's virus statistics. One focus is on a dramatic surge in deaths in nursing homes in Madrid and other regions. Spanish rules don't require a coronavirus test be performed post-mortem even when the person had COVID-19 symptoms.

The actual number of deaths in Madrid is 71 per cent more, or 4,801, than official statistics, news website El Confidencial estimated on Thursday, based on data from Madrid's Council of Social Issues.

Government Spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero has defended the criteria used, saying they follow World Health Organization guidelines. In a press briefing Thursday, she suggested that questioning official data might be an attempt to "confuse the public."

Bloomberg