16:34

We reported earlier that the Madrid regional government has ordered the closure of all schools and universities for a fortnight. Madrid has a population of 6.6 million and the school shutdown is expected to have a direct impact on 1.5 million people.

The president of the Madrid regional government, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, said she was sorry to have to inform people of the new measures that will come into force on Wednesday but insisted they were necessary given the spread of the disease.

These decisions haven’t been easy to take, but we know that public health must come before everything else.

Díaz Ayuso also urged anyone showing symptoms of the virus to remain at home and not to go to work or to medical centres. People should instead call the coronavirus hotline, she added.

Moreover, the regional government warned against all but essential travel and encouraged older people or those with chronic illnesses to remain at home. Salvador Illa, the Spanish health minister, also advised people to work from home.

Data indicate a turn for the worse in Spain. Yesterday, there was a significant increase in the number of cases, especially in the Madrid area.

In Catalonia, where 101 cases have so far been reported, the regional government also urged people to work from home and to avoid travel. A nursery school in Barcelona was closed today as a result of the virus but as yet the Catalan government is not proposing to shut down schools.