Coronavirus death toll in Spain overtakes China

Spain records 738 deaths in past 24 hours, while death toll in Italy now double that of Hubei

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Spain's coronavirus death toll has overtaken China's, climbing to 3,434, while a slowdown in the rate of new infections in Italy has raised hopes that the peak of its outbreak could be within sight.

After more than a week in lockdown in Spain, another 738 people died over 24 hours, but officials expressed hope that the daily rise in deaths might be stabilising. "If we are not already at the peak, we are very close," said Fernando Simon, the head of Spain's health emergency centre.