Spain to impose nationwide lockdown - draft

The Spanish government will put the country under lockdown from Monday as part of state of emergency measures to combat the coronavirus, a draft of an official decree obtained by Reuters showed.

The government will say all Spaniards must stay home except to buy food, go to the pharmacy, to the hospital, or to work or for other emergencies, the draft showed.

Public transport will be curtailed to carry fewer people but will not be suspended, the draft showed.

Spain's Interior Ministry will control all police forces, including local and regional ones, as part of the 15-day state of emergency.

The health and transport ministries will also have nationwide reach, taking over some local or regional powers.

The draft says the lockdown will enter into force on Monday at 8 a.m. (0700 GMT) while all other measures will enter into force as soon as the decree is published in the official journal.

Spain now has the second-highest number of confirmed cases in Europe after Italy, with a total of 5,753 cases and 136 people were killed.