Spain decrees 'state of alarm' in Madrid and nine other cities

The measure was adopted early on Friday morning with the aim of restricting travel by residents from those urban areas during the bank holiday that was set to start later that same day.

Friday's move by the government of President Pedro Sanchez followed a a tense stand-off over the preceding weeks over how strict the measures to curtail the fast-rising number of novel coronavirus cases in Madrid, in particular, should be.

Just the day before, Madrid's Supreme Court had ruled against a similar measure decreed by Spain's health minister a few days before.

Authorities in Madrid argued that the health ministry did not have sufficient authority under Spain's constitution to impose restrictions on travel.

They also alleged that the central government had refused to consult them on which measures would be best.

Regional authorities also said that the measures imposed by the health ministry were poorly designed, from a health point of view, and that they would place a severe burden on the country's already battered economic motor, the Madrid region.

Some observers also believed that there was a political aspect to the tussle between the central and regional governments, with the a coalition of parties led by the centre-left PSOE and Madrid by another coalition led by the centrist PP.

Somewhat ironically perhaps, as Ian Shpeherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics pointed out: "The latest Covid outbreak in Western Europe is now out of control everywhere except Spain, which was hit first and has imposed more comprehensive restrictions on activity than other countries.

"Confirmed cases, the test positivity rate, and hospitalizations in Spain are now falling, though they remain high. The positivity rate in France seems to have peaked too, but it's too soon to call a definitive shift in the trend."

Some observers in Spain however, such as renowned transplant surgeon Pedro Cavadas, have in recent days criticised Spanish authorities' handling of the pandemic from the start, with him being one of the few that warned of the magnitude of the risks from Covid-19 as far back as January.