Catalonia locks down area of 210,000 people

The government in Spain's Catalonia region has re-imposed coronavirus controls on an area of 210,000 people after a sharp rise in infections, the media reported on Sunday.

On Saturday, President Quim Torra said no-one would be allowed to enter or leave Segria, an agricultural area west of Barcelona which includes the city of Lleida, reports the BBC.

The local lockdown began on Saturday afternoon with provisions made to allow non-residents to leave and residents were advised not to travel between towns within Segria.

"We are taking a step back to protect ourselves and control the outbreak," he said.

The lockdown will be enforced using police checkpoints

Within the area, gatherings will be limited to 10 people, and special measures are being taken to keep people in care homes safe.

A field hospital was set up outside LLeida's Arnau de Vilanova hospital on Friday with capacity to treat up to 105 patients if required.

The Spanish region of Aragon, which borders Lleida, also re-imposed restrictions on several areas last month after an outbreak among fruit pickers in its Huesca province.

According to the Spanish Health Ministry on Friday, Catalonia is the second-worst affected region of Spain by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 5,673 people losing their lives to COVID-19 out of a total of 62,057 infections, of which 834 were diagnosed in the last seven days.

As of Sunday morning, Spain has registered a total of 250,545 COVID-19 cases, with 28,385 deaths.