State of emergency declared in Spain
Measures include a countrywide nighttime curfew
THE NATIONAL government has approved another state of emergency, which came into effect on Sunday evening and will initially run for 15 days.
The measure gives legal cover to regional governments to bring in restrictions to protect the health of citizens in the Covid19 crisis.
The state of emergency does not restrict movement between regions but does give regional governments the power to bring in lockdowns for specific towns, areas or the whole of their region if they see fit.
This would be to prevent people entering or leaving a municipality or area/ region for a specific period of time.
It also allows for a nighttime curfew for the whole of mainland Spain, although regional governments have leave to extend or shorten the times.
The Valencia government had already stated that its curfew would begin at midnight and run until 06.00.
Ximo Puig’s government brought in a series of new measures at the weekend and had asked the national government to declare the state of emergency to ensure that they had the power to restrict citizens’ freedom of movement and other basic rights.
“The state of emergency is the most useful legal instrument to tackle this situation,” he said.
It was on Saturday that Sr Puig announced ‘ exceptional measures to tackle the healthcare emergency caused by the coronavirus’.
In a speech to the people of the Valencia region, Sr Puig explained that the situation was getting worse and they needed to take action ‘ to protect the health of the people’.
“The risk is irrefutable and we have to urgently strengthen our ability to halt the spread of the virus,” he said. “Losing time means losing lives, jobs and social wellbeing.”
He stated at the time that the measures in the Valencia region would initially be in force until December 9.
Speaking about the curfew, he noted that it was essential to prevent groups of people gathering at night for illegal drinking sessions in the streets, as well as parties in private homes.
“Two out of three of the outbreaks we are recording are of social origin, with many of these caused by unsupervised nighttime he said.
Sr Puig added that the regional justice department has been notified of more than 20,000 fines that have been levied in the last three months – and 90% of the serious or very serious infractions come from illegal parties.
For this reason, ‘ the only people who will be allowed onto the streets between midnight and 06.00 are those who are going to work or who are returning home from work, or people who have to go out due to an emergency or to care for a dependent’.
The new rules also only allow for six people to meet up at any one time in public or private – although this does not apply to those who live under the same roof.
Parks and public gardens can only open from 08.00 to 22.00. Bars and restaurants activity,” can no longer serve clients at the bar and tableonly service has to be offered – with a maximum of six people at a table.
These establishments have to close by midnight.
Alcohol cannot be sold from 22.00 to 08.00 – except in bars and restaurants.
The resolution also ‘ recommends’ postponing social and family events ‘ which are not essential’ in order to ‘ limit social activity in the coming weeks’.
Sr Puig added that ‘ personal responsibility’ has to come first and he implored citizens to ‘ make a greater effort for the common good’.
He made a specific appeal to young people:
“You have a crucial role in this,” he said; adding that he had ‘ complete confidence’ in them.
Length of state of emergency
The government has asked Parliament to extend the state of emergency for six months – although if the situation of the pandemic allows, it could be lifted before May, according to a government press release.
It was health minister Salvador Illa who outlined the reasons for such a lengthy period under special measures during a debate in Congress yesterday ( Thursday). He asked deputies to back their proposal ‘ for the good of everyone’ and ‘ to protect the health of Spanish people’.
A vote on the proposal had not been held before Costa Blanca News went to press.