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Night 'curfew' only compulsory for two weeks and most coastal provinces remain restriction-free
27/10/2020
SPAIN'S government has U-turned on the nationwide curfew and announced it will only be enforced until Sunday, November 8 inclusive – after which it will be up to regional authorities to decide whether to prolong it.
From Sunday (October 25), when another 'state of alarm' was declared, the whole country – except the Canary Islands – was ordered to restrict movement overnight, but given some freedom as to the exact hours.
The 'core' times during which nobody is allowed off their home premises except for medical or care issues or emergencies are 23.00 to 06.00, but regional governments are permitted to move both boundaries an hour in either direction.
Some of the worst-affected parts of Spain, such as Aragón, the Basque Country, La Rioja, Navarra and Catalunya are likely to stretch the curfew hours out – possibly to the extreme of from 22.00 to 07.00 – although others with far better epidemiological data are expected to stick to the minimum allowed, from midnight to 05.00.
Madrid, although one of the hardest-hit areas – and having already banned residents from leaving 32 suburbs, neighbourhoods and towns – has set its overnight lock-up between midnight and 06.00 and has not yet decided whether to prevent travel into or out of the region.
Most coastal provinces continue to be free from fresh restrictions other than a ban on overnight movement for the next two weeks.
The Murcia Region has confined the towns of Totana, Fortuna and Albanilla due to high local contagion rates, meaning residents cannot leave and nobody else can enter other than in exceptional circumstances, and the inside parts of all bars and restaurants are off limits, but in all other towns, 'New Normality' life will continue.
The only coastal province in Andalucía with any 'border closures' is Granada, with 33 towns ring-fenced; also, in the land-locked province of Sevilla, the towns of Écija and Pedrera cannot be entered and their inhabitants cannot leave.
Galicia has 'fenced off' eight towns in Ourense, its only province without a coast.
Just two other coastal regions, both in the north, have applied entering-and-leaving restrictions: The Basque Country, which has 'locked in' and 'locked out' every single one of its towns, and Asturias, which has shut its outer borders and also those of its three cities, Gijón, Oviedo and Avilés.
Asturias is, in fact, one of the least-affected regions in Spain, but its government wants to keep it that way, so has opted to prevent anyone from outside its single province from bringing the virus into it, on the basis that 'a bit of loss of freedom now' could save the Christmas holidays.
Although the epidemiological situation in Catalunya is a cause for concern, no movement restrictions have been applied as yet, but a tight clampdown on what residents can do during their 'movements' is in place: Shops can only allow up to 30% of their maximum safe customer numbers in at once, and gyms and arts and entertainment venues, 50%, with all activity ordered to cease by 23.00.
So far, Catalunya is the only region that has ordered all bars and restaurants in its four provinces to shut down – this has proven widely unpopular, as traders say they will be forced to stop earning any money at all for a minimum of a fortnight.
Farther down the east coast, the Comunidad Valenciana continues to be among the least-affected regions; whilst far from virus-free, a huge number of its towns have no active cases at all, many of these have never had a single one, and in smaller towns, often only around one to four residents are infected.
Given its favourable epidemiological data, the Comunidad Valenciana has not imposed any restrictions beyond those required by the national government – bar counters cannot be used for at least two weeks, and overnight curfew is from midnight to 06.00 – and residents can largely get on with their lives provided they continue to observe the usual precautions of social distancing, masks, hand-washing and reduced numbers in social and family gatherings.
The Balearic Islands are not subject to any special restrictions beyond the overnight curfew and 'New Normality' precautions, and the Canary Islands are not required to impose a prohibition on being outside the home at night.
Today, the Canary Island regional government announced that any visitors, from abroad or from other parts of Spain, will need to show negative PCR test results to be allowed entry – these tests are either carried out by the national health system free of charge for those displaying symptoms or who have been in contact with a known positive case, or can be conducted at any private medical clinic.
Tests take a matter of seconds, and results are usually given within 24 to 48 hours.
Spanish president Pedro Sánchez has been met with a barrage of opposition for his decision to extend the 'state of alarm' until May 2021 – over six months, and the longest in the country's democratic history – with several other parties calling it 'excessive' and the PP party saying it will only support the move if it does not stretch beyond December 9.
But the 'state of alarm' does not necessarily mean restrictions on movement or limits on trade and leisure activity until May next year – it is merely a tool in place to allow the government to announce immediate emergency measures nationally if the need arises.
Its function is similar to that of Spain's national 'terrorism alert' having been on level four of a maximum of five for many years – despite being considered one of the lowest-risk countries in Europe for possible terrorist attacks, below that of the UK and far lower than France or Belgium, the 'level four' ranking is merely a legal instrument to provide for extra police vigilance and general public security.
Sánchez's critics say he should amend the Public Health Act of 1986 instead, introducing a clause that permits blanket restrictions being imposed with immediate effect if these are deemed necessary at any point in the future and for any health-related reason.
Doing so would mean there was no need to maintain a 'state of alarm' for longer than a few weeks at a time as and when circumstances dictated, rather than putting this in place for six months 'just in case'.
Also, Sánchez has come under fire from some quarters for 'passing the buck' to regional governments, by leaving it to their discretion to apply curfews and confinements, or not, after November 8, with some of the opposition saying he is 'trying to avoid accountability'.
But spokeswoman María Jesús Montero stresses that the regional governments are in the best position to take 'local' decisions, rather than being given orders by politicians in Madrid who cannot feasibly see what is happening hundreds of kilometres from home.
Overall, the government has said its aim in bringing restrictions into place now is to force the contagion rate down to as low as possible – ideally, fewer than 25 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, or 0.025% of the population – in time for the festive season so families and friends can spend Christmas together safely.
Related Topics
SPAIN'S government has U-turned on the nationwide curfew and announced it will only be enforced until Sunday, November 8 inclusive – after which it will be up to regional authorities to decide whether to prolong it.
From Sunday (October 25), when another 'state of alarm' was declared, the whole country – except the Canary Islands – was ordered to restrict movement overnight, but given some freedom as to the exact hours.
The 'core' times during which nobody is allowed off their home premises except for medical or care issues or emergencies are 23.00 to 06.00, but regional governments are permitted to move both boundaries an hour in either direction.
Some of the worst-affected parts of Spain, such as Aragón, the Basque Country, La Rioja, Navarra and Catalunya are likely to stretch the curfew hours out – possibly to the extreme of from 22.00 to 07.00 – although others with far better epidemiological data are expected to stick to the minimum allowed, from midnight to 05.00.
Madrid, although one of the hardest-hit areas – and having already banned residents from leaving 32 suburbs, neighbourhoods and towns – has set its overnight lock-up between midnight and 06.00 and has not yet decided whether to prevent travel into or out of the region.
Most coastal provinces continue to be free from fresh restrictions other than a ban on overnight movement for the next two weeks.
The Murcia Region has confined the towns of Totana, Fortuna and Albanilla due to high local contagion rates, meaning residents cannot leave and nobody else can enter other than in exceptional circumstances, and the inside parts of all bars and restaurants are off limits, but in all other towns, 'New Normality' life will continue.
The only coastal province in Andalucía with any 'border closures' is Granada, with 33 towns ring-fenced; also, in the land-locked province of Sevilla, the towns of Écija and Pedrera cannot be entered and their inhabitants cannot leave.
Galicia has 'fenced off' eight towns in Ourense, its only province without a coast.
Just two other coastal regions, both in the north, have applied entering-and-leaving restrictions: The Basque Country, which has 'locked in' and 'locked out' every single one of its towns, and Asturias, which has shut its outer borders and also those of its three cities, Gijón, Oviedo and Avilés.
Asturias is, in fact, one of the least-affected regions in Spain, but its government wants to keep it that way, so has opted to prevent anyone from outside its single province from bringing the virus into it, on the basis that 'a bit of loss of freedom now' could save the Christmas holidays.
Although the epidemiological situation in Catalunya is a cause for concern, no movement restrictions have been applied as yet, but a tight clampdown on what residents can do during their 'movements' is in place: Shops can only allow up to 30% of their maximum safe customer numbers in at once, and gyms and arts and entertainment venues, 50%, with all activity ordered to cease by 23.00.
So far, Catalunya is the only region that has ordered all bars and restaurants in its four provinces to shut down – this has proven widely unpopular, as traders say they will be forced to stop earning any money at all for a minimum of a fortnight.
Farther down the east coast, the Comunidad Valenciana continues to be among the least-affected regions; whilst far from virus-free, a huge number of its towns have no active cases at all, many of these have never had a single one, and in smaller towns, often only around one to four residents are infected.
Given its favourable epidemiological data, the Comunidad Valenciana has not imposed any restrictions beyond those required by the national government – bar counters cannot be used for at least two weeks, and overnight curfew is from midnight to 06.00 – and residents can largely get on with their lives provided they continue to observe the usual precautions of social distancing, masks, hand-washing and reduced numbers in social and family gatherings.
The Balearic Islands are not subject to any special restrictions beyond the overnight curfew and 'New Normality' precautions, and the Canary Islands are not required to impose a prohibition on being outside the home at night.
Today, the Canary Island regional government announced that any visitors, from abroad or from other parts of Spain, will need to show negative PCR test results to be allowed entry – these tests are either carried out by the national health system free of charge for those displaying symptoms or who have been in contact with a known positive case, or can be conducted at any private medical clinic.
Tests take a matter of seconds, and results are usually given within 24 to 48 hours.
Spanish president Pedro Sánchez has been met with a barrage of opposition for his decision to extend the 'state of alarm' until May 2021 – over six months, and the longest in the country's democratic history – with several other parties calling it 'excessive' and the PP party saying it will only support the move if it does not stretch beyond December 9.
But the 'state of alarm' does not necessarily mean restrictions on movement or limits on trade and leisure activity until May next year – it is merely a tool in place to allow the government to announce immediate emergency measures nationally if the need arises.
Its function is similar to that of Spain's national 'terrorism alert' having been on level four of a maximum of five for many years – despite being considered one of the lowest-risk countries in Europe for possible terrorist attacks, below that of the UK and far lower than France or Belgium, the 'level four' ranking is merely a legal instrument to provide for extra police vigilance and general public security.
Sánchez's critics say he should amend the Public Health Act of 1986 instead, introducing a clause that permits blanket restrictions being imposed with immediate effect if these are deemed necessary at any point in the future and for any health-related reason.
Doing so would mean there was no need to maintain a 'state of alarm' for longer than a few weeks at a time as and when circumstances dictated, rather than putting this in place for six months 'just in case'.
Also, Sánchez has come under fire from some quarters for 'passing the buck' to regional governments, by leaving it to their discretion to apply curfews and confinements, or not, after November 8, with some of the opposition saying he is 'trying to avoid accountability'.
But spokeswoman María Jesús Montero stresses that the regional governments are in the best position to take 'local' decisions, rather than being given orders by politicians in Madrid who cannot feasibly see what is happening hundreds of kilometres from home.
Overall, the government has said its aim in bringing restrictions into place now is to force the contagion rate down to as low as possible – ideally, fewer than 25 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, or 0.025% of the population – in time for the festive season so families and friends can spend Christmas together safely.
Related Topics
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