The United States, which has by far the most number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, recorded 1,150 deaths over 24 hours, Johns Hopkins University said.

And Britain on Tuesday reported a record 786 deaths in its daily update, following two days of falling figures.

"As of 5pm on 6 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 6,159 have sadly died," the health ministry tweeted, up from 5,373 on Monday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care but his condition was described as stable. He is not on a ventilator and has not suffered pneumonia, his office said.

The disease's relentless march across the planet has now claimed more than 75,500 lives out of more than 1.35 million confirmed cases, with warnings that much worse is yet to come.

The number of daily deaths in Spain shot up to 743 on Tuesday, after France on Monday recorded a new surge of 833 fatalities and Italy saw its death toll rise after days of dropping.

New research showed Britain's toll on a steeper trajectory than other nations and predicted as many as 66,000 deaths there by July, far more than Italy.

Sweden, which has not imposed extraordinary lockdown orders seen elsewhere in Europe, reported another 114 deaths, bringing its total to 591.