Lockdowns eased across Europe as UK, Italy and Spain record significant falls in daily death tolls

UK’s daily figure for Covid-19 deaths fell on Sunday to lowest number since day after lockdown

Lockdowns across Europe are being eased, as the UK, Italy and Spain recorded a significant drop in their daily Covid-19 death tolls over the weekend.

On Monday, beaches, restaurants and bars will reopen in Italy, which was the first country in Europe to implement a national lockdown.

The easing of restrictions comes after Italy recorded its lowest daily death toll since its lockdown started in early March, with 145 people dying from coronavirus in the 24 hours up to Sunday.

Giuseppe Conte, the Italian premier, acknowledged on Saturday that easing restrictions was a risk and that the number of infections could increase again.

With his country facing a severe recession, Mr Conte said: "We are confronting this risk, and we need to accept it, otherwise we would never be able to relaunch.”

From this week, people in Italy are allowed to travel within their region and meet up with friends.

"People will be able to go wherever they want - to a shop, to the mountains, to a lake or the seaside," Mr Conte said.

Social distancing rules still apply, people continue to be encouraged to wear masks in busy outdoor areas and large gatherings remain banned.

As part of the country’s phased return to normal life, swimming pools, sports centres and gyms are scheduled to reopen on 25 May.

Italy will also lift travel restrictions on June 3 after its Republic Day holiday, enabling travellers from EU countries to enter the country without a period of quarantine.

Spain also recorded its lowest daily death toll in two months on Sunday, as it fell beneath 100 for the first time since 16 March.

Some restrictions on movement will lift in places like Formentera in the Balearics, where people will be able to walk at any time of day.

However, Barcelona and Madrid, which have been badly hit by the virus, will continue to have tougher measures.

Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s prime minister, will ask parliament to extend the country’s state of emergency until the end of June.

Meanwhile, the UK’s daily figure for Covid-19 deaths also fell significantly to 170 on Sunday, the lowest number since the day after lockdown.

The government lifted some restrictions last week, permitting people to take unlimited exercise and return to work if they could not do so from home.

On Monday, extra trains are set to accommodate thousands more people as they return to work as part of the government’s plan to restart the economy.

More than 312,000 people around the world have died from the virus so far, with the death toll in the UK, Italy and Spain standing at 34,636, 31,908 and 27,650 respectively.

Agencies have contributed to this report