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Spain Follows Italy Into Lockdown as Virus Cases Soar

Associated Press

   BARCELONA, SPAIN - Spain decided Saturday to follow Italy in declaring
   a nationwide lockdown to slow the accelerating spread of the
   coronavirus epidemic, Spanish media reported.

   Spain's decision came as European countries took ever more severe,
   though widely varying, measures to reduce contact between their
   citizens and slow the pandemic. China -- where the virus first emerged
   late last year -- continued to ease up lockdown measures in its
   hardest-hit region.

   According to a copy of the royal decree seen by The Associated Press,
   Spain's government was to announce Saturday that it is placing tight
   restrictions on movement for the nation of 46 million people while
   declaring a two-week state of emergency. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez
   was due to address the nation in the afternoon.

   Health authorities in Spain said Saturday that coronavirus infections
   have reached 5,753 people, 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.

   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. By Saturday, more than 145,000
   infections and over 5,400 deaths had been confirmed worldwide.

   Europe has now become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, with
   countries imposing a cascade of restrictions in efforts to prevent
   their health systems collapsing under the load of cases. Schools, bars
   and shops not selling essential goods are among the facilities being
   closed in many places.

   Residents in Madrid, which has around half the infections, and
   northeastern Catalonia had already awoken Saturday to shuttered bars
   and restaurants and other non-essential commercial outlets as ordered
   by regional authorities. Madrid ordered city parks closed and Seville
   canceled its Easter Week processions -- one of Spain's most important
   religious and cultural events.

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