⁍ Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged Spaniards to limit social contact to combat Europe’s worst COVID-19 hotspot.

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⁍ He stopped short of announcing new measures amid political disputes over potential curfews.

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⁍ Sanchez said it was up to the 17 regions to decide on next steps.

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– Spain has seen more than a million cases of H1N1 this year, with 1,026,281 reported in the country as of yesterday, according to the country’s health ministry. The number of confirmed cases in Spain is expected to top 3 million by the end of the week, Reuters reports. The government has recommended curfews for H1N1 in some areas, but has so far been unable to pass such a measure across the country because it lacks a majority in parliament. “What we have to do is reduce movement and social contact. There is no other solution,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in a televised address to the nation yesterday. “If we don’t follow precautions, we are putting the lives of those we love most at risk.” The leader of the northern Castilla and Leon region, which wants a curfew in its territory, voiced exasperation at the delays. “The virus doesn’t understand administrative boundaries or different political stripes,” Alfonso Fernandez Manueco told a news conference. Most regions favor some form of curfew, but the powerful Madrid region opposes it, which has prevented a nationwide decision. The leader of the northerly Basque Country, Inigo Urkullu, called on Friday for a state of emergency, which would give regions legal backing to act to limit people’s movement. The votes of his Basque Nationalist Party and those of other regional leaders making similar calls would most likely give the government enough votes to pass the measure. In Madrid, where a two-week lockdown expires today, the regional government plans to move to impose more localized confinement. Socialising between different households will be banned across the city.