Spain places region of 200,000 people under new covid-19 lockdown
4 July 2020, 11:22
Officials in Spain have placed a region of the country with a population of around 200,000 people into lockdown.
A local lockdown has been put in place in the Catalan city of Lleida, roughly a third the size of Leicester, after a spike in cases of coronavirus.
The lockdown begins at midday today with residents told they will face fines if they fail to comply.
The affected area is the Segria region in the south of the province, bordering Huesca and Zaragoza. The lockdown affects 38 smaller towns and villages in the area as well as the city of Lleida.
The population of the region is just over 200,000 and the size of the lockdown area is 1,400 square kilometres.
Authorities said there is a grace period until 4pm, after which all entry and exit to the area will be prohibited, except for work reasons.
Restrictions are also in effect on transport, commerce and business activities and will remain in place until the government issues a change to the rules.
Officials in the area are instructing people to maintain social distancing, hand hygiene and to wear masks.
People are also being told to reduce the size of family gatherings "to the maximum", which in Spain means a limit of 10 people at most.
