BARCELONA, Spain

— Buckling under the resurgence

of the coronavirus

in Europe, the Spanish

government on Sunday

declared a national state of

emergency that includes an

overnight curfew in hopes

of not repeating the near

collapse of the country’s

hospitals.

Prime Minister Pedro

Sánchez said the decision to

restrict free movement on

the streets of Spain between

11 p.m.-6 a.m. allows exceptions

for commuting

to work, buying medicine,

and caring for elderly and

young family members. He

said the curfew takes effect

Sunday night and would

likely remain in place for

six months.

“The reality is that Europe

and Spain are immersed

in a second wave

of the pandemic,” Sánchez

said during a nationwide

address after meeting with

his Cabinet. “The situation

we are living in is extreme.”

The leaders of Spain’s

17 regions and two autonomous

cities will have

authority to modify the

curfew in their territory to

start between 10:00-12:00

p.m. and end between 5:00-

7:00 a.m., close regional

borders to travel, and limit

gatherings to six people

who don’t live together, the

prime minister said.

The curfew does not

apply to Spain’s Canary Islands,

which were recently

removed from Britain’s and

Germany’s list of unsafe

travel destinations due to

the favorable trajectory of

the virus on the archipelago.

With the mainland curfew,

Spain is following the

example of neighboring

France, where the government

ordered a 9 p.m.-6

a.m. curfew for major cities

and large swaths of the

country this week.