Coronavirus lockdown measures will finally be eased for people in Madrid and Barcelona from today, while elsewhere in Spain the first beaches are due to reopen, according to AFP.

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 Madrid and Barcelona regions, the most populated in the country, and a large part of Castile-Leon in the northwest are moving into the first phase of Spain's four phase deconfinement programme, following what has been one of the strictest lockdowns in the world.