MADRID (Reuters) – Catalonia’s regional authorities on Friday called on residents of Barcelona to stay home and not gather in groups of more than ten in order to fight an increase in coronavirus cases.

But the regional government stopped short of imposing a mandatory lockdown for Spain’s second-largest city and said the measures were meant to avoid having to do so.

Residents of Barcelona, which is one of Spain’s tourism hotspots, are encouraged to shop online and only go out of home when it’s absolutely essential, regional officials told a news conference.

Cultural and sports events will also be limited.

The Catalan capital – home to 1.6 million people and one of Europe’s most visited cities – has seen its number of coronavirus cases jump from last week.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Andrei Khalip)

Copyright 2020 Thomson Reuters.