Daily US Times: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has declared a national state of emergency and imposed a night-time curfew in an effort to control the news Covid-19 infections spike.
Mr Sánchez said the night-time curfew, between the hours of 23:00 and 06:00, would come into force on Sunday.
Local authorities can also ban travel between regions under emergency measures.
The Prime Minister said he would ask parliament to extend the new rules, initially in force for 15 days, to six months.
During the first wave of the pandemic earlier this year, Spain was one of the most affected countries and it has imposed a much more restrictive lockdown – one of the toughest in the world.
Like many other European regions, the country has been hit by a second wave of infections.
New restrictions were also announced on Sunday in Italy. The government said the steady rise in Covid-19 cases there was causing a huge strain on the country’s health services.
The Spanish Prime Minister said different regions would have up to an hour of flexibility if they wanted to modify the duration of the overnight curfew.
Restrictions on movement between districts would be determined by regional leaders, he said, adding that it was likely to be dependent on work and medical needs.
The new measures announced include a limit on private and public gatherings of different households to a maximum of six people.
Mr Sánchez said in a televised address on Sunday: “The situation we are going through is extreme,” adding: “It is the most serious in the past half century.”
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