Spain set for total lockdown as coronavirus state of emergency declared

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Spain is to go into nationwide lockdown in response to the coronavirus crisis.

The measures are set to come into force at 8am local time (7am UK time) on Monday and last 15 days, the country's prime minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed.

During the two-week quarantine, the country's 47 million inhabitants will only be allowed to leave their homes to buy food, for work or for medical needs.

Mr Sanchez told reporters on Saturday that the covid-19 pandemic requires "extraordinary decisions."

"We must all be united in fighting the outbreak", he added.

Spain is the worst-hit country in Europe after Italy, which declared a nationwide lockdown on Monday.

Its infection count surged by 1,500 cases overnight on Friday to more than 5,700 – with a total of 3,000 in the capital Madrid.

Bars, restaurants, conference centres and all leisure and sports activities - including cinemas, theatres, swimming pools or football grounds - will be shut down.

All public transport will be curtailed, with airline, train, bus and boat operators told they need to cut their services by at least half.

Mr Sanchez acknowledged that the measures were drastic "and will have consequences" for the country.

But, he added: ​"It is important not to mistake the enemy, it is the virus, and we must all fight it together.

"Let's cut the chain of panic transmission, stop the hoaxes, act responsibly."

The president conceded that all Spaniards were facing a difficult few weeks, however, he went on: "The emergency will pass, we will return to the parks, to the terraces, and we will prepare for economic recovery and we will prepare for economic recovery and normality.

"But until then, we must all stand as one."

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Spanish politicians spent seven hours ironing out the details of the state of emergency on Saturday, which was announced the day before.

It is only the second to be declared in the country's recent history, with the first being a 2010 air traffic controllers' strike.

Meanwhile, France announced its own planned partial lockdown, with all "non-essential" public places shut for the foreseeable future.

Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic, with countries across the continent ramping up efforts to prevent their health systems collapsing under the ever-growing load of cases.

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