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Police officers ask people to not sit while patrolling the beach in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Roughly half of the population, including residents in the biggest cities of Madrid and Barcelona, are entering phase 1, which allows social gatherings in limited numbers, restaurant and bar service with outdoor sitting and some cultural and sports activities. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)Associated Press

A single illegal birthday party has been blamed for a spike of coronavirus infections in Spain

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A single birthday party has been linked to a sudden spike in coronavirus cases in a Spanish town, with every single person who attended the party having become infected with the virus.

A birthday party held in Lleida, Catalonia, resulted in all 20 people who attended becoming infected, the Telegraph newspaper reported, prompting Spanish health authorities to postpone the region's schedule for easing the lockdown.

The Lleida area subsequently saw the number of new cases rise from 45 between May 7 and May 13, to 142 between May 14 and 21.

A maximum of 10 people are allowed to attend a social gathering in Spain, which has recorded one of the highest coronavirus death tolls in the world.

Over 27,000 people have died with the virus, according to John Hopkins University, a figure only surpassed globally by the USA, the UK, France, and Italy.

"We are all dying to enjoy gatherings with our families," Fernando Simón, head of the Spanish Health Ministry's Covid-19 department, told the Telegraph newspaper when discussing the incident.

"An innocent little party can lead to an outbreak that can spark another wave of the epidemic.

"We are not yet in the new normal because we have to move slowly, there is still danger."

According to Spanish officials, four people who had been infected with Covid-19 attended the party and spread it to others.

Different regions of Spain have gradually started easing lockdown restrictions since the start of May as the number of daily deaths continue to fall rapidly. On Thursday, the country recorded just one new death for the second day running.