New Madrid neighborhoods added to partial lockdown

An additional 160,000 people in Madrid are now under further social restrictions as the city attempts to control a rise in coronavirus cases.

Over 850,000 people in 37 neighbourhoods in the Spanish capital had been confined to their homes since last week because of a recent rise in infections.

Alcorcon is one of eight further areas to see reimposed restrictions after they each recorded more than 1,000 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents.

The maximum capacity in shops and restaurants has been reduced and parks closed in the affected neighbourhoods.

Madrid has turned into the epicenter of the rebound of the virus in Spain, once again the worst hit country in Europe.

Spain is fighting a cumulative coronavirus caseload of over 700,000 with the worry focusing in Madrid and its surrounding region, where more than one third of the new infections are happening.

The total death toll in Spain since the start of the pandemic reached 31,232 as of early Monday.

Because of limited testing and missed cases, among other factors, the figures do not capture the true extent of the damage wrought by the virus.