The latest official statistics from the Spanish health authorities put the number of deaths from the coronavirus outbreak at 288

The latest official statistics from the Spanish health authorities put the number of deaths from the coronavirus outbreak at 288, double the count on Saturday, with more than 7,750 people infected.

There have been 517 patients who have recovered and been discharged from hospital so far, and 382 who are currently in intensive care.

The Madrid region continues to have the highest number of infections, with the latest figures at 3,544. Catalonia is next, with 715, and then the Basque Country, with 630.

After his Cabinet approved a state of alarm in Spain on Saturday night, which has essentially locked down the entire country, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez held a video conference call with the regional leaders, in a bid to tackle the effect of the global pandemic here in Spain.

It also emerged that Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, tested positive for coronavirus. Both are following the measures established by the health authorities.

The Spanish government has launched a campaign calling on members of the public to help stop the virus. Using the hashtag ‘We will stop this virus together’, the government said it was seeking to appeal to a sense of “common responsibility,” stating that citizens were “the principal driver of national hope in the fight against the virus.”

Around Spain, police officers yesterday began to warn members of the public that they could not be in the streets under the conditions of the state of alarm.

Members of the public can only venture out of their houses alone, and only under specific circumstances, such as to buy foodstuffs or pharmaceutical supplies.

In Valencia, for example, local police were using megaphones to request that people left public spaces and returned to their homes.

If they fail to observe the measures, they could face fines or even a prison sentence.

One of the main measures that will be put into place is “fixed and mobile” police checkpoints on roads, in public areas and on public transport to “ensure” that the public complies with the complete lockdown.

The checkpoints will be on a larger scale “in those places or during times that will specifically be affected by the restrictions.”

Members of the public could be slapped with fines starting at €100 for disobeying the conditions of the state of alert, or could even face a year in prison.