Tourists stranded as Spain lockdown affects hotels

Spanish hotels across the country slowly began to empty after the government ordered all of them to close by the 24 March in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

The closures come as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Sunday announced plans to extend the nationwide state of emergency for a further 15 days.

It means the lockdown will last for at least one month.

Following the announcement of the closures Canadian tourist Claude Lavoie told the Associated Press he was still struggling to get home.

Spain is the second hardest-hit country in Europe by the virus.

As of Sunday health officials said there had been more than 28,500 confirmed cases of the virus in the country and 1,750 deaths.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia but the vast majority of people recover from the virus.

The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 335,900 people and killed more than 14,600.

More than 98,300 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.