Catalan lawmakers welcome Madrid virus measures

The regional government of independence-seeking Catalonia said on Sunday that it "welcomed" the Spanish government's decision to impose more restrictions to combat the new coronavirus spreading across the country.

Earlier, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez spoke with with leaders of the autonomous regions, via teleconference, including the separatist leader of Catalonia, to announce his government had approved measures to order non-essential workers to stay at home for two weeks, a step up from the previous measured taken.

At the start of the outbreak in Spain, Catalonia had asked Madrid's permission to lockdown and seal its borders with the rest of the country claiming it needed to protect itself from the new virus spreading in Madrid, despite also having a big cluster an hour from Barcelona.

Miquel Buch, the Catalan interior minister insisted Spain should have imposed the new restrictions sooner, but denied accusations that his separatist government was using the health crisis to advance their fight for independence.

On Sunday Spain hit a new daily record for deaths in 24 hours with 838 fatalities.

Spain now has a total of 6,528 due to the virus - the world's second highest death count behind Italy.

The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.