Spain saw its number of coronavirus cases shoot up by 5,092 today, putting an end to three days of slowing infections.
The 5,092 new cases – up from 3,045 yesterday – mark the largest jump in six days and bring the total from 172,541 to 177,633.
Many countries have seen higher figures at the start of a new week because of delays in counting weekend cases, a problem which may have been exacerbated by the long Easter weekend.
Spain also reported 523 new deaths, down from yesterday’s 567, taking the total from 18,056 to 18,579.
The number of new coronavirus cases in Spain was 5,092 today, the highest figure for six days and more than 2,000 larger than yesterday’s 3,045
The daily number of deaths was 523 today, slightly down from yesterday’s 567 and well down from the peak of 950 deaths recorded on April 2
Of the 5,092 new cases, the Madrid region accounted for 1,478 while Catalonia added another 1,308, according to official figures.
The Spanish government says at least 114 of the new cases were really from the previous day in Andalucia.
The increase of 5,092 brings a halt to a downward trend after jumps of 4,830 on Saturday, 4,167 on Sunday, 3,477 on Monday and 3,045 yesterday.
Still, the average for the last week of 4,420 cases per day is far lower than the average 6,365 of the previous seven days.
The Madrid region accounts for 6,724 of Spain’s 18,579 deaths, while 3,756 people have died in Catalonia.
The flattening curve has prompted the government to begin lifting lockdown restrictions this week, despite concern about a possible new surge in cases.
Construction and manufacturing workers were allowed to resume their jobs on Monday after a two-week ‘hibernation’ of non-essential economic activity.
Two workers at the Torrero cemetery in Zaragoza wear protective suits as they tape up the coffin of a deceased coronavirus patient in Spain
Marcelo and Juan, two workers at the Huesca funeral home in Zaragoza, move a body from a residence to the mortuary
However, police are still stopping motorists to check the reason for their journey in cities such as Barcelona.
‘I still find it quite hasty, this return – I see too many people today,’ hospital employee Monica Pinzon said at a Barcelona metro station.
Police and the Red Cross are distributing millions of face masks to people at ticket barriers this week.
For Roberto Aguayo, a 50-year-old Barcelona construction worker travelling on the metro, the restart of his sector came just in time.
‘We really needed it. Just when we were going to run out of food, we returned to work,’ he said.
However, Catalan leader Quim Torra has described the decision to restart some industrial sectors as irresponsible.
Torra said the lifting of restrictions created an ‘enormous’ risk of a second wave of coronavirus infections and a second lockdown.
A patient rests in their bed at the temporary hospital for coronavirus patients at Madrid’s Ifema conference and exhibition centre
Red Cross volunteers hand out masks to commuters at the Sants metro station in Barcelona yesterday after restrictions were slightly eased
Unlike in other countries such as Britain, Spaniards are not allowed out of their houses for exercise and can only leave for essential activities like buying food.
Shops, bars and public spaces will stay closed until at least April 26 in a lockdown which is feared to have cost at least 900,000 jobs already.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts an eight per cent economic slump this year in Spain, to be followed by a recovery in 2021.
Millions are turning to the government for relief.
On Tuesday, the Spanish government approved a one-month tax moratorium for the self-employed and small companies.
Authorities say the measures will allow those businesses to boost their short-term liquidity by around €3.6billion (£3.1billion).
Meanwhile, social security has registered nearly a million requests from self-employed people for pay-outs under the terms of a state relief package announced last month, government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero said.