For the third day in a row, Monaco reported no new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday evening. The total number of confirmed cases remains at 93, with nine in hospital and two in intensive care.

However, the Government announced that a 72 year-old resident has died, the first case of its kind. Two other patients have died since the start of the epidemic, neither of them residents and both over 80 with underlying health problems.

The Government expressed its great sadness at the news and promised its full support to the family in question.

Meanwhile, Spain reported 3,573 new cases and 324 new deaths for the last 24 hours, a steady figure for new cases and a very considerable drop in deaths, down from 499 on Tuesday, which itself was a fall from 547 on Monday.

In Italy, 2,667 new cases and 578 new deaths were reported on Wednesday, continuing a slow downward trend.

In France, the latest figures show 4,560 new cases and 1,438 new deaths. The sharp rise in deaths can be partly attributed to the late reporting of care home deaths,

The UK has recorded 4,603 new cases of coronavirus and 761 new hospital deaths, roughly in line with the figures for the previous four days. Figures for France and Italy will follow.