Health authorities said Monday that they had diagnosed a total of 85,195 cases of the virus, up by 6,398 from 78,797 reported the day before. China has reported more than 82,000 cases.
The US - with more than 140,000 confirmed cases - and Italy - with almost 100,000 - have also surpassed China's figure.
Spain's death toll also increased by 812 overnight from 6,528 to 7,340. Monday's increase was steep, but not as steep as Sunday's total of 838 which marked the country's worst day of the pandemic so far.
Only Italy has recorded larger one-day death totals than Spain, with its worst day coming between Thursday and Friday last week when 969 were killed.
Some 12,298 health workers have tested positive for coronavirus in Spain, deputy health emergency chief Maria Jose Sierra said at a news conference on Monday.
That is equivalent to around 14 per cent of the country's 85,195 confirmed cases, roughly the same proportion as last week.
In Madrid, where nearly half of the total deaths have been recorded, flags were hoisted at half-mast Monday as authorities declared the start of an official mourning.
The first of daily minutes of silence to honour those killed also took place at noon.
Authorities also stepped up the country's half-a-month lockdown on Monday, beginning with a new two-week period of 'hibernation,' as described by a Spanish Cabinet member in order to alleviate pressure on the country's health system.
Only workers in hospitals, pharmacies, the food supply chain and other essential industries are required to work until the end of Easter, in mid-April, while the rest have been asked to scale back operations to weekend-level.
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