Madrid regional chief says national government considering locking down Madrid over coronavirus

Passengers, wearing protective face masks, wait for checking-in before boarding their flights to the U.S. at Madrid's Adolfo Suarez Barajas airport

MADRID (Reuters) - The president of the Madrid region Isabel Diaz Ayuso said on Thursday that the Spanish government was considering locking down Madrid as a measure to stem the coronavirus spread in the country.

The Spanish government denied on Wednesday that it had any plan for such a lockdown.

"From what we have seen in the past hours, the possibility of closing down Madrid is under consideration," Diaz Ayuso said on Tele 5 local TV channel.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Emma Pinedo, Editing by Ingrid Melander)