MADRID (REUTERS) - Madrid and nine nearby towns will enter a partial lockdown at 10pm local time (8pm GMT), regional health chief Enrique Ruiz Escudero told a news conference on Friday (Oct 2).

Famous for its late-night carousing and usually bustling tourist flow, Madrid is also seeing a curfew for bars and restaurants moved to 11pm from 1am.

The measure is a huge blow to residents of the Spanish capital after already enduring one of Europe's toughest lockdowns earlier in the year.

Madrid region head Isabel Diaz Ayuso opposes the restrictions and has launched a legal appeal.

She is worried about economic damage and accuses the central government of exceeding its prerogatives by ordering the measures.