Spain has been put into lockdown as part of its emergency measures to combat coronavirus, according to local reports.
The drastic measures come after the government announced the number of cases had soared by over 1,500 in just 24 hours.
It is now the second most affected European country after Italy.
Local media said that all Spaniards must stay home except to buy food or drugs, go to the hospital, go to work or other emergencies.
Publication El Mundo added that the Interior Ministry will control all police forces, including local and regional ones, as part of the state of emergency.
The number of confirmed cases now stands at 5,753 with 136 deaths.
Today, airline Jet2 announced it was cancelling all flights to the mainland as well as the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.
A handful of planes were forced to turn back mid-air.
The lockdown is expected to be officially confirmed by Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, this afternoon.
It will also include closing the nation’s airspace in order to limit people’s movements.
Brits already in the country are likely to be able to leave.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office updated its travel advice for Spain on Friday, advising against all but essential travel to the regions that the Spanish Ministry of Health has designated as areas of community transmission: Madrid and La Rioja, and the municipalities of La Bastida and Vitoria (both in the Basque Country) and Miranda de Ebro (in Castilla y Leon).
The royal botanical garden has been closed to all visitors as a precaution against coronavirus.
Europe has now been declared the epicentre of the pandemic with countries imposing a cascade of restrictions in efforts to prevent their health systems from collapsing.
Italy has recorded 17,660 infections and 1,266 deaths from the virus.
They have enacted a set of sweeping measures which have left millions virtually confined to their homes and shut down large parts of the economy.
