Spain's government will seek a fresh extension of its state of emergency that will last "about a month" until the transition out of lockdown is completed, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday.  

"It should be the last state of emergency (period) and will continue until the end of the rollback. For that reason... instead of being a 15-day (extension), it will be for about a month," he said in a televised address.

Spain first decreed a state of emergency on March 14. Officials say that while the outbreak has been brought largely under control, restrictions must stay in place a bit longer as the lockdown is gradually phased out.

After pushing four previous extensions through parliament, support for Sanchez's left-wing coalition is waning among lawmakers and voters.

Protests against the government's handling of the crisis and its economic fallout sprang up around Spain on Saturday, with demonstrators gathering to bang pots and pans and call for the government to resign.

At the largest such demonstration, in Madrid's wealthy Salamanca neighborhood, several hundred people congregated despite the efforts of police to enforce social-distancing.

Waving Spanish flags and crying "viva Espana!" some denounced the leftist government seeking to ruin the country.

"They need to test everybody so healthy people can get back to work and we can restart the economy," said a demonstrator in Salamanca. 

Similar protests took place in Zaragoza and the southern city of Seville, until recently a Socialist Party stronghold.

"It doesn't matter what the demonstrations are about. The important thing is to maintain social distancing," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said. 

Spain's daily coronavirus death toll fell to 102 on Saturday, the lowest since March 16, bringing the total number of fatalities to 27,563.

The Health Ministry also reported 539 new infections, taking the nationwide tally to 230,698.