France is advising it citizens not to travel to the Spanish region of Catalonia in order to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus, Reuters reported the French Prime Minister Jean Castex as saying on Friday.

Regional authorities across Spain introduced fresh coronavirus restrictions on Thursday aimed at stamping out a surge in infections. France had said last weekend it had not ruled out closing the border between the two countries.

In Catalonia, nearly 8,000 cases were diagnosed in the 14 days up to Thursday — almost half of the 16,410 detected throughout the country — despite guidelines for residents of regional capital Barcelona to stay at home.

“Concerning the situation in Catatonia, which is displaying worsened indicators for infection, we strongly encourage French citizens to avoid going there until the health situation improves,” Castex told reporters.