MADRID — The Spanish government met in an all-day session on Saturday to decide on strict measures to contain the rapid spread of the coronavirus, a day after the country declared a state of emergency because of an alarming rise in infections. Regional officials had already declared on Friday a lockdown of one region, Catalonia, telling all residents to stay at home. The cabinet could decide to extend similar measures nationwide on Saturday, which would make Spain the second country in Europe to do so after Italy. “We’re the new Italy,” said Francisco Gutierrez, a 33-year-old street cleaner for the city of Madrid. “We don’t know how long it’s going to last, and we don’t know how much Spain will suffer from this yet.”

Source: New York Times March 14, 2020 15:31 UTC