Spain, Italy now under lockdown as coronavirus cases soar

BARCELONA, Spain (AP):

Spain has followed suit with Italy in declaring a nationwide lockdown as European countries took even more sweeping measures to reduce contact among people and slow the accelerating spread of the coronavirus.

China, meanwhile, where the virus first emerged late last year, continued to relax its drastic measures in its hardest-hit region.

According to a draft government order seen by The Associated Press, Spain’s government planned yesterday to announce a two-week state of emergency and tight restrictions on movement by the country’s 46 million people.

Airline flights bound for Spain turned around as word spread of the lockdown.

People will be allowed to leave their homes only to buy food and medicine, commute to work, go to hospitals and banks, or take trips related to the care of the young and the elderly.

Those rules will take effect at 8 a.m. (0700 GMT) tomorrow.

Effectively immediately, Spain is also closing all schools, universities, restaurants, bars and hotels nationwide along with non-essential stores, a step some regions have already taken.

Health authorities in Spain said the number of coronavirus infections climbed past 5,700, half of them in the capital, Madrid. That represents a national increase of over 1,500 in 24 hours. The country had 136 deaths, up from 120.

Spain has the fifth-highest number of cases, behind China, Italy, Iran and South Korea.

CASES DWINDLING IN CHINA

The number of new cases has dwindled in China, but the virus has in recent weeks spread exponentially in the Middle East, Europe and North America, leading President Donald Trump to declare a state of emergency for the United States on Friday.

Europe has now become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, with countries imposing a cascade of restrictions in an effort to prevent their health systems from collapsing under the caseload.

Spain’s measures to date, though, had fallen short of those ordered by Italy, the worst-hit European country, where the number of cases climbed past 17,600, with 1,266 deaths. The government in Rome has ordered an unprecedented lockdown, ordering businesses to close and restricting people’s movement.

Elsewhere in Europe, some countries moved to isolate themselves from their neighbours.

Drug company executives vowed to work together and with the US government to quickly expand the country’s coronavirus testing capabilities, which are far behind those in many countries.

So far, more than 145,000 infections and over 5,400 deaths had been recorded worldwide.