The northern autonomies of Galicia, Castile and Leon, and Cantabria, and southern Andalusia, joined La Rioja (north) and Murcia (southeast) on Monday, by closing night events and imposing a partial prohibition of smoking on the street.
They are the first regions that implement a series of new measures to contain the increase in positive cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
After meeting with health authorities in all 17 autonomous communities of the country, Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa on Friday announced the suspension of activities in discotheques, bars and nightclubs throughout the country.
Illa also banned smoking on the street if physical distancing of two meters cannot be kept, a measure that has been implemented in Galicia (northwest) and the Canary Islands (Atlantic).
The central government, in conjunction with regional authorities, also decided to close restaurants and other bars after 1 a.m.
The health minister also prohibited meetings of more than ten people, even if physical distancing can be guaranteed, and called on citizens to limit social meetings to the people they live with.
If these measures fail to curb the contagions with the lethal virus, the next step, contained in the so-called early response plan to control de Covid-19 pandemic, would be to declare a state of alarm.
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