After Madrid, Catalan, Basque, Galician and the education centers are to be closed as from today. The other regions will follow on Monday.

The measure in Catalunya has been taken in order to avoid the spread of coronavirus, and comes a day after other exceptional decisions, including the ban on all gathering of more than 1,000 people.

The decision will affect a almost 10 million students. 

Macron: the most serious health crisis France had faced in a century 

Meantime in France, President Emmanuel Macron in a televised address from the Elysée Palace on Thursday night described the coronavirus outbreak as "the most serious health crisis France had faced in a century".

Macron announced the closure of all the country’s creches, schools, colleges and universities as part of "strong measures" to address an expected acceleration in the number of people with the coronavirus and prepare for a second wave at a later date.

Macron called on those aged over 70 and with underlying health conditions to limit their contact with the outside world and remain at home as much as possible.

Médecins Sans Frontières warns of appalling conditions of refugees

The international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has released a statement saying the appalling conditions in which thousands of men, woman and children now find themselves on Aegean islands close to the Turkish coast provide "especially high risk environments" for the coronavirus to both flourish and spread.

Calling for camps on the outposts to be evacuated immediately, the group said: "All over the world governments are cancelling events and prohibiting large gatherings, but in the Greek island camps people have no option but to live in close proximity. COVID-19 may be just the latest threat that people face here, but the conditions they live in make them more vulnerable than the rest of the country’s population."

Over 1,000 deaths in Italy, 4,718 worldwide

The death toll from coronavirus in Italy passed 1,000, making it the European country worst affected by coronavirus, with 15,113 confirmed cases - an day on day increase of 21.7%.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide now stands at 127,863, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. There have been 4,718 deaths and 68,310 people have recovered.