Spain Extends Lockdown as Virus Cases Rise Again in Europe

Italy, France and Spain continued to grapple with some of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks as discussions in Germany and within the European Union focused on how to mitigate the economic fallout.

Italy and France both reported the most new cases in four days, complicating efforts to gradually ease containment measures. In Spain, where the daily case count was mostly steady, lawmakers extended a state of emergency to May 9. The three countries together had more than 10,000 new cases on Wednesday, bringing their combined total to almost 600,000. They’re preparing to cautiously lift restrictions starting next month, following the examples of nations including Denmark and Austria.