Spain to extend coronavirus lockdown until May 9: PM Pedro Sanchez

Restrictions on movements would be loosened slightly however to allow children time outside from April 27, the PM added.

Spain, one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is to extend its nationwide lockdown until May 9, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Saturday.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wearing a full protective suit and a mask looks at people working during a visit at El Corte Ingles retail store sewing workshop amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain. (via REUTERS)

Restrictions on movements would be loosened slightly however to allow children time outside from April 27, he added.

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Spain, which has been under lockdown since March 14, has recorded 20,043 deaths from the virus, according to the latest official figures.

“We have done the hardest part through responsibility and social discipline... we are putting the most extreme moments behind us,” Sanchez said.

He nonetheless insisted that Spaniards should not put at risk the fragile and insufficent gains made so far with hasty decisions. The end to the confinement would be “prudent and progressive”, he said.