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.