Coronavirus death toll in Spain more than doubles in a day to 288

Deaths from coronavirus in Spain have more than doubled in a day to 288, authorities have said.

The Health Ministry had recorded 136 deaths just 24 hours before on Saturday.

The number of people who have tested positive for the infection is at nearly 8,000.

It comes a day after Spain's government declared a two-week state of emergency and took extraordinary measures to limit movement across the country.

It has closed restaurants, bars, most retail shops and reduced public transport and is set to put the entire country in lockdown from Monday.

A woman takes a picture of a statue wearing a mask in Madrid (Getty Images)

It is the second European country after Italy to go into lockdown mode over the rapidly growing cases of Covid-19. Europe is currently the main front line in the fight against Covid-19.

The increasing restrictions also weighed on Sunday worship in Spain, where orders stipulated that a one-metre gap be kept between parishioners.

Spain's government said on Saturday that prime minister Pedro Sanchez's wife had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Begona Gomez and the prime minister were in good health, the government said.