People sit on a terrace during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Barcelona. | ALBERT GEA

TW
0

On Wednesday, the government in Catalonia ordered the closure of bars and restaurants for 15 days from Thursday and limited the opening of shops and parks to try to curb a surge of diagnosed coronavirus cases.

Acting president, Pere Aragones, said that restaurants will be allowed to offer take-away services and delivery.

With close to 900,000 registered cases and more than 33,000 deaths, Spain has become the pandemic's hotspot in Western Europe. The capital Madrid and nearby suburbs were put on partial lockdown last week.