Around 500,000 people are being placed on lockdown in Murcia’s coastal region including the popular Brit tourist area of La Manga because of the coronavirus crisis.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed a state of emergency during a press conference today and said he will deploy the military to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, regional government chiefs are issuing an emergency order limiting freedom of movement in seven coastal municipalities for the next fortnight.
The order is set to lead to the closure of discos, bars and restaurants.
Bars and restaurant closures in resorts like Benidorm, as well as other holiday hotspots along the Costa Blanca, will come into effect at midnight tonight.
Pictured: The beach town of Benidorm in an undated file photo. Benidorm, which is part of the province of Alicante, will have restaurants and bars closed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak
The order covers the whole of the Valencian community which includes the provinces of Castellon, Valencia and Alicante. Benidorm is part of the province of Alicante.
A statement from the regional government said: ‘The closure of bars and restaurants, shows and public and private sports centres comes into effect from midnight tonight.’
Discos will also be affected.
A handout picture provided by the Moncloa Press Office shows Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during a presser after a meeting on the coronavirus situation at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain today
Police checkpoints are now due to be set up to stop the free movement of people into or out of the lockdown areas, which include the municipality of San Javier covering La Manga.
No-one was immediately available for comment at one of the best-known resorts in the area, the La Manga Club Resort, to explain the order’s practical effects for British tourists already staying there and those scheduled to check in.
Murcia’s regional government announced the measure today after the massive arrival of Spaniards from higher risk areas include Madrid.
It came after Glamorgan announced it had called off their pre-season tour of La Manga because of the coronavirus crisis. They were scheduled to fly out on March 19.
Four towns in the province of Barcelona were placed on lockdown on Thursday night.
Pictured: A file photograph of Amnesia nightclub in Ibiza, Spain. The Balearic Government today ordered the closure of discos, clubs, pubs, nightclubs, gyms and sports facilities, casinos and game rooms in Mallorca and Ibiza in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus
Spanish PM Pedro Gonzalez put Spain on a state of alarm this afternoon, enabling the government to restrict peoples’ freedom of movement and ration the consumption of necessity goods.
Closure orders affecting bars, restaurants and cafes were also announced today for the Valencian Community, which covers Costa Blanca resorts like Benidorm.
They will have to close from tonight under the terms of the regional government decree, along with museums, theatres and libraries.
COVID-19 has already infected over 4,000 people in Spain and caused 120 deaths.
PM Gonzalez’s decision will allow for decision-making to be centralised and for population movement to be limited.
The state of emergency, which Sanchez said will formally be decided by a cabinet meeting on Saturday, will give the government power to take wide-ranging measures including temporarily occupying factories or any other premises except private homes.
He did not spell out what specific measures the government will take.
Schools have already shut down across the country, with many cinemas, theatres or playgrounds also closing and trials suspended in several regions as normal life came to a halt in the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy.
Sanchez said the number of cases in Spain could jump to over 10,000 as early as next week but added he was confident the country would defeat the virus, urging all citizens to do their part.
It is the second time the state of emergency has been enforced in Spain.
The first time was in 2010, with the air traffic controller crisis.
Sánchez said the order was for 15 days. He has asked the whole of Spain to follow expert to stop the virus from spreading.
‘The heroism is about washing one’s hands and staying at home. It will take weeks, it will be difficult and but we will overcome this emergency,’ he said.
The comments, delivered at a press conference earlier today, come shortly after Britons were warned against ‘all but essential travel’ to Madrid and some other parts of Spain.
Ibiza and Majorca will close all pubs and clubs as part of a series of ‘drastic’ measures intended to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
The Balearic Government today ordered the closure of all discos, clubs, pubs, nightclubs, gyms and sports facilities, casinos and game rooms in Mallorca and Ibiza.
It has also ordered bars, restaurants, theatres and cinemas to reduce their capacity by at least a third.
There are currently 26 cases of coronavirus in the Balearics and there has been one death, a woman in her 60s who already had underlying health problems.
President, Francina Armengol acknowledged the measures are ‘drastic’ in a community where the ‘incidence is low’ – 0.8 per cent of the total in Spain – but assured that, with them, the community would come out of the health crisis.
She says ‘sacrifices’ have to be made and has asked for the population to stay at home for the next 15 days.
‘We are closing all the places where we believe there can be agglomerations,’ she told a press conference this lunchtime.
Discos and clubs will have to close for at least a fortnight, after which there will be a further review.
All large events have been suspended and school cancelled.
‘Individual responsibility is essential. Each measure of individual protection we take is an advance in the containment of the virus, ‘ said the Balearic president.
‘We know that the health crisis is serious, and we know that the economic impact will be important, but we can be sure that if we all act with the maximum responsibility we will be able to contain the virus in the coming weeks and we will be able to advance the recovery of economic and social normality. ‘
One of the most popular clubs in Mallorca, Tito’s in Palma, has formally announced its temporary closure due to coronavirus.
The management said this would be temporary and reopening will depend on the evolution of the disease.
It has stressed that the decision has been taken for purely health reasons and that no member of staff has contracted the virus.
Pictured: Tito’s in Mallorca, one of the most visited clubs on the island, announced its temporary closure today
Red Cross members demonstrate hygiene measures in Madrid where Britons have now been advised to avoid travelling unless necessary because of coronavirus
Groom Rafael (centre, right) and bride Miki (left), both protected with face masks, leave a civil registry after getting married in Madrid, Spain today. Madrid’s local authorities decreed that all wedding ceremonies must be held behind closed doors due to the ongoing pandemic of the COVID-19 disease. Only the couple, the witnesses and the officiant are allowed to attend the ceremony
Spain’s coronavirus death toll spiked by 50 per cent to 120 today and infections have soared to 4,200.
The Foreign Office said Britons should scrap unnecessary visits to the regions of Madrid and La Rioja and the municipalities of La Bastida, Vitoria and Miranda de Ebro.
As of 1200 GMT, there were 4,209 cases in Spain, up from 3,004 on Thursday evening, when the number of deaths had stood at 84.
Madrid and La Rioja and the municipalities of La Bastida, Vitoria and Miranda de Ebro, have been designated by Spanish authorities as ‘areas of community transmission’.
Britons who are currently in Spain are not being advised to leave, because flights and other transport routes are still running.
Airlines are still running flights to and from the areas in question, the Foreign Office said.
However, the Spanish government has suspended all incoming flights from Italy until March 25 and asked people to avoid unnecessary travel.
‘People intending to travel to Spain should consult their airlines and tour operators,’ the UK government advice says.
The region of Madrid is one of 17 autonomous communities in Spain, and includes the capital city.
A worker shuts the doors of the stunning medieval cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain today
Pilgrims wearing face masks lift up their backpacks after finishing their pilgrimage on the Way of St James at the Praza do Obradoiro square in Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, today. The stunning medieval cathedral of Santiago has been closed amid the ongoing pandemic of the COVID-19 disease
The community of La Rioja, also designated as a virus hotspot, is further north and includes the cities of Logrono and Calahorra.
La Bastida and Miranda de Ebro are in the north-western Castile and Leon region, while Vitoria is in the Basque country.
There is no advice against travelling to the rest of Spain, but officials are keeping the outbreak under review.
An elderly woman wears a protective face mask as she carries a bag with food products, amidst concerns over Spain’s coronavirus outbreak, in Barcelona today
People wearing face masks as a precaution against coronavirus (Covid-19) are seen at Plaza Mayor Square in Madrid, Spain today
Tourists are seen as the closure of the Alhambra was announced due to coronavirus today in Granada, Spain
The FCO advice follows very similar guidance issued by Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney two days ago.
Officials are already advising against all but essential travel to Italy, and urging tourists to try to return to the UK as soon as possible.
That is becoming increasingly difficult with flights being scrapped and neighbouring countries closing their borders.
Britons are also advised against non-essential travel to China and any travel at all to Hubei province at the centre of the outbreak.
Catalan police officers stop a car trying to get into Igualada, one of four towns closed down by regional authorities, at a checkpoint near Barcelona this morning
The FCO also advises against unnecessary travel to Iran, although that was the case already because of political tensions.
There is no general advice against travel to South Korea, except for affected provinces.
Separately, four towns in Catalonia were put under quarantine on Thursday in the first such move in the country.
The 66,000 inhabitants of the localities of Igualada, Odena, Santa Margarida de Montbui and Vilanova del Cami ‘cannot leave their urban core’ although they can leave their homes, a statement said.
Catalonia’s health minister Alba Verges told reporters that the authorities would be focussing on Igualada, a town of 40,000 people around 40 miles from Barcelona.
There are currently 58 cases in the town, 38 more than on Wednesday, the health minister said.
Catalan police officers were blocking cars trying to leave Igualada on a road this morning.
Spain’s royal palace said yesterday that King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia had tested negative for Covid-19.
The cabinet also underwent tests after the equalities minister tested positive and was quarantined with her partner, the second deputy prime minister.
The infected minister, Irene Montero, had appeared at a mass march of some 120,000 people through Madrid for International Women’s Day last Sundady.