🔴 LIVE – First working day national lockdown gets underway

The first full working day of the national state of alarm has begun, with restrictions in place for the movement of people.
Following on from the introduction of the emergency law on Saturday night, people will only be allowed to leave their homes to buy food and medicine, commute to work, or to provide care for sick or infirm relatives.
In an interview on national radio, Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marlaska has said that there is a possibility of Spain following other countries and closing their border. However there is no immediate plan to do so.

Meanwhile Catalan regional president, Quim Torra, has faced severe criticism after being the only regional president not to sign a cooperative agreement with the national government. Other regional leaders have confirmed they will work in close coperation with the national government to tackle the pandemic.
Banks nationwide have opened their doors, however the sector has asked people to only come to branches if essential, and to use mobile banking apps or websites if possible.
Financial markets across the globe have suffered sustained losses, with the Ibex35 in Madrid down nearly 9% since trading opened this morning.

In Depth: Coronavirus outbreak in Spain
[catlist tags=”covid-19″]

Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has also issued an update, stating that all police forces will now follow a single command structure.
Today will see the first meeting of the government’s Civil Protection Committee, which will be chaired by the Interior Minister. He is also to attend a video conference with EU member states representatives to discuss coordination cross border.
Airlines providing domestic and international flights have either cancelled or amended their flight schedules.
easyJet has cancelled all regular flights to the country from tomorrow, ad will operate rescue flights with details being posted on their website this morning. Ryanair has also significantly reduced the number of flights and is contacting passengers.
Shares of IAG, the parent company of Iberia, British Airways, Vueling, Aer Lingus and LEVEL, plummeted almost 23% after announcing measures to reduce operating expenses and improve cash flow.
In better news however, it has been announced that over 500 people who required medical treatment in hospital have been discharged.
Last night the Irish minister for foreign affairs – Simon Coveney – said Irish citizens should return to the Republic before Thursday.

20k Irish in Spain on Holidays, U need to plan to fly home by midnight Thurs or face real uncertainty re travel. @Ryanair & @AerLingus will facilitate free changes to flight bookings & will increase capacity if needed. No need to panic or book for tomorrow, but do take note! pic.twitter.com/HrE6u2MLqR

— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) March 15, 2020

Meanwhile the Spanish government issued the same advice for their citizens holidaying abroad.
The British Foreign and Commonwealth office has said that those travelling to Spain from the UK should do so only if essential, and should contact their airline.

Last night there were 293 confirmed deaths due to the virus, with 7,800 cases reported nationwide.