Spain toughens restriction measures as coronavirus cases surpass China's

As of March 30, all workers in “non-essential” sectors in Spain need to stay at home until April 9, as the country enters a new week of stricter restrictive measures, in a bid to stem spread of the novel coronavirus.
On Monday, COVID-19 infections in Spain surpassed China’s, with the country recording over 85,100 cases, noting an 8% rise over the past 24 hours. The death toll jumped to over 7,300, the second-highest record following Italy.
The new legislation exempts employees practicing “non-essential” activities from the obligation of heading to their workplace. Previously, the decision on whether employees would telework or attend office, was at the companies’ discretion.
“All workers in non-essential economic activities must stay at home for two weeks,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday in a televised address, adding that “the most important thing is to slow the number of people being taken to hospital.”
Affected employees will receive paid leave but will be requested to make up lost work hours at a later date, once the emergency situation is over. The new measure excludes employees offering vital services, such as healthcare workers, supermarket workers and pharmacists.
Business and shops selling “non-essential” products, including restaurants and bars, have already been shut, as the country went into lockdown on March 14.