The Foreign Office has warned people not to travel to regions of Spain unless it is essential they do so.

Madrid and La Rioja, the municipalities of La Bastida and Vitoria (both in the Basque Country) and Miranda de Ebro (in Castilla y León) are covered by the warning.

The virus is spreading in the community in these areas, the warning says.

Spain’s government has also asked people to avoid unnecessary travel and to consider remote working where possible.

‘The affected regions are prohibiting gatherings which involve more than 1000 attendees.

‘All educational centres, including nurseries, schools and universities will close for 15 days or until further notice.

‘In other regions, individual schools are being closed where there are suspected cases of the virus.

‘National museums in Madrid are closed until further notice. Some local festivals such as Las Fallas in Valencia and sporting events have been postponed. You should follow local authority websites for further information.

‘People intending to travel to Spain should consult their airlines and tour operators.’

Madrid’s top health official warned of a ‘very worrying’ surge in cases, with a rise of almost 50% in less than 24 hours taking the total to almost 2,000 today.

Enrique Ruiz Escudero urged people to stay at home to try and contain the virus, saying: ‘This is the only thing that we know we can do to contain it.’

Spain has Europe’s highest number of coronavirus cases outside of Italy.

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