Spanish pensioner, 77, fined for 'hunting Pokémon' amid COVID-19 lockdown, police say

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A 77-year-old pensioner has been fined for 'hunting Pokémon' amid the COVID-19 lockdown, Spanish police have reported online.

After Italy, Spain was one of the first countries to impose a nationwide lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of the pandemic, with the United Kingdom lockdown only introducing a lockdown last night, per the Guardian.

This man left his house in a t-rex costume during Spain's lockdown: 

Generally speaking, in each country, lockdown means the same thing: unless you are a key worker, you've to stay at home, leaving only for essential groceries, medical supplies, or emergencies.

However, this was clearly lost on one Spanish pensioner who decided to play the popular game Pokémon Go, the Metro reports.

The mobile game - based on the popular anime series - was created to encourage people into the great outdoors in the hopes of "catching 'em all".

The 77-year-old's unusual fine, which was issued on Sunday, March 22, was posted on the official Policia Municipal de Madrid's Twitter account, along with a warning that read: "Hunting of #Pokemon, dinosaurs or any other magical creature is PROHIBITED":

The fine states that the man was stopped by authorities in the Latina district of Madrid at 1:30 pm on Sunday. When asked why he was outside, he told police that "he was hunting Pokémons".

According to TeleMadrid, a total of 664 fines were issued on the city on Sunday to people who were disobeying the lockdown, and a further 60,000 complaints have been received by Spanish police since it was imposed.

Meanwhile, these Italian neighbors were filmed singing during their lockdown: 

This news comes as John Hopkins University reports that there have been a total of 387,382 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally and 16,767 deaths at the time of writing.

Footage also emerged this week of a woman being arrested in Spain for sunbathing during the lockdown, and an Italian politician decided to up the ante for people failing to comply with Italy's lockdown by threatening them with flamethrowers.

We are urging all of our readers to adhere to the advice from their respective governments and medical bodies, and practice social distancing and self-isolation where required. Together, we will beat this...