Madrid votes on Tuesday in an early regional election the incumbent conservative Popular Party is expected to win comfortably, dealing a blow to Spain's Socialist PM Pedro Sanchez, AFP reported.

Voters in the Madrid region look set to back their conservative governor in an election on Tuesday after she defied pressure from Spain's leftist central government to lock down the economy and let bars and shops stay open despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Reuters reported.

Madrid heads into an election campaign on Sunday with virus cases rising and its vaccination drive delayed, AFP reported. The vote is likely to cement the right-wing's hold on Spain's wealthiest region, observers noted.

The Spanish capital Madrid said it would tighten its lockdown in light of spiralling numbers of new coroanvirus cases, dpa reported. A night-time curfew in the city will from Monday be brought forward an hour to 10 pm  in line with many other Spanish regions.

Spanish police set up temporary checkpoints, as residents of Madrid and nine nearby towns began a partial lockdown, news wires reported. Hours after the city limits were closed off to all non-essential traffic, masked police could be seen setting up temporary checkpoints and stopping cars for about 20 minutes before moving on, an AFP correspondent said.

Residents of infection hotspot Madrid are to be barred from leaving except on essential trips under new rules to fight the coronavirus resurgence, Reuters reported, citing Spain's government decision on Wednesday.

The Spanish capital will introduce selective lockdowns in urban areas where the coronavirus is spreading faster, regional health authorities announced Wednesday.

Regional authorities in Madrid decided to impose new restrictions on daily life in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus in the Spanish capital. The new measures will be in place from Monday for at least 15 days, the regional premier Isabel Diaz Ayuso announced on Friday.

Coronavirus lockdown measures will finally be eased for people in Madrid and Barcelona from 25 May, news wires reported. Residents in the two cities can now meet in groups of up to 10 people in their homes or on the terraces of bars and restaurants. The gates of the capital's parks will also be reopened, and major museums will be able to receive a limited number of visitors.

The halls are eerily quiet at Madrid's Reina Sofia, Spain's most visited museum. Тhe modern art museum housed in a former hospital has been closed since mid-March, like others Spain’s cultural institutions,  due to a nationwide coronavirus lockdown. But with the restrictions starting to be eased, it is getting ready to reopen, hopefully in a month, with new social distancing and hygiene regulations in place for the pandemic age, AFP reported.