The number of people who have died in Spain from the coronavirus has climbed above 4,000 after another 655 people died overnight, The Local reports.

The coronavirus death toll in the country surged to 4,089 after 655 people died within 24 hours, the health ministry said on Thursday, March 26.

It was a 19 percent increase on figures released on Wednesday. The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 rose to 56,188 in Spain, which has the world's second highest death toll from the disease after Italy.

On Wednesday, Spain overtook China in the number of deaths officially attributed to the coronavirus.

But on the plus side, the rise in the number of new deaths was smaller than that recorded on Wednesday when the figure rose by 738 or 27 percent.

In other good news, the data showed that 1,068 people had recovered in the last day and been discharged from hospital.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 rose to 56,188, the ministry said.

Despite a national lockdown imposed on March 14th, which the parliament on Thursday agreed to extend until April 11th, both deaths and infections have continued to mount, with officials warning this week would be particularly bad.

Health authorities are hoping it will soon become clear whether the lockdown is having the desired effect.

The Madrid region has suffered the brunt of the epidemic with 17,166 infections -- just under a third of the total -- and 2,090 deaths, or 51 percent of the national figure.