156 cases of coronavirus in Catalonia, according to Spanish government

156 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in Catalonia, according to the latest figures released by Spain's health ministry early afternoon on Wednesday.

This means a 31-person increase compared to the Catalan authorities' last update on Tuesday afternoon. In Spain, cases as of March 11 stand at 2,109 - 470 more than the day before - and there have been 47 fatalities.

These figures were announced by Fernando Simón, Spain's Alert Coordination and Health Emergencies Center's director, who also admitted that "in the best-case scenario," infections in Spain will halt in two months' time. "In the worst-case scenario, it could be four or five," he added.

Simón also claimed that the measures recently announced by Spain, including the closure of schools in the Madrid region and a ban on flights from Italy, will begin to have an effect in nine or ten days.

According to him, authorities do not foresee the closure of any public or private transport links because the closure of schools in the affected areas is already decreasing the number of public transport users.