A staff member sprays disinfectant in a restaurant in Rome, Italy, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Elisa Lingria/Xinhua)

-- Death toll rises to 25,549 in Italy, daily recoveries surpass infections;

-- UK starts tracking coronavirus in general public;

-- Merkel warns German citizens of long-time COVID-19 restrictions;

-- Spain sees continuous rise in new COVID-19 deaths.

BRUSSELS, April 23-- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.

ROME -- The daily number of patients who recovered from COVID-19 on Thursday surpassed new infections for the first time in Italy since the pandemic began in the country's northern region late February, according to the latest numbers released by the country's Civil Protection Department.

The death toll on Thursday was 464, bringing the nationwide fatalities to 25,549 since the pandemic first broke out in the northern Lombardy region on Feb. 21.

There were 2,646 new coronavirus infections and 3,033 additional recoveries compared to Wednesday, bringing the nationwide totals to 106,848 and 57,576, respectively.