Madrid and nine neighboring towns are closed due to the advance of covid-19 in Spain

Madrid and nine neighboring towns were closed on the perimeter from 10:00 pm (Spanish time) this Friday, due to the advance of covid-19, which continues to hit that country, as it impacts 4.5 million people.

The perimeter confinement will be for an initial period of fourteen days, and may be extended depending on the epidemiological evolution, said the official Madrid bulletin, which adopted an order from the Ministry of Health.

These measures come at the end of a high-voltage political confrontation between the left-wing central government, in favor of hardening the measures given the high incidence of the disease in Madrid, and the regional executive, conservative and very reticent among other things because of the expected economic damage.

“Thank you for the chaos, Pedro Sánchez,” tweeted Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Madrid regional president, whose executive considers that the measures are difficult to implement. From Brussels, the president of the Spanish government, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, underlined the “moment of extraordinary gravity” in Madrid.

The restrictions mean that residents will only be able to leave their municipality in certain cases, such as going to work or studying, going to the doctor and treating dependent people.

In any case, they will be able to move freely within their municipalities and will not be confined to their homes, as happened in spring throughout Spain.

Nor are there any restrictions on international flights from Madrid, where a third of all cases and deaths occur in the country, which accumulates almost 790,000 infections and more than 32,000 deaths during the pandemic.

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The Madrid authorities announced at a press conference on the day that they were abiding by “the rule imposed by the government”, despite the fact that “they are going to generate great chaos”, according to the regional head of Justice, Enrique López.

Despite the go-ahead, the application faces a series of judicial and operational obstacles.

No fines

Alleging an “invasion of competences” and a “limitation of fundamental rights” that must be faced with “special restraint”, the Madrid region presented this Friday before the National Court, a high court, an appeal asking to suspend the restrictions ordered by the government.

The presentation of the appeal does not paralyze the application of movement limitations, since the Community of Madrid did not request precautionary measures.

In the letter presented, the regional executive alleges that the limitations lack legal validity, since they were not approved unanimously in a meeting held on Wednesday between the central government and the 17 regions of the country, competent in health management.

The second flat is that there will be no fines for infractions until a regional court validates this limitation of constitutional rights. The police will be limited for the moment to inform and warn citizens.

Control movements, titanic task

With so many exceptions to the norm, including the possibility of traveling to work, the challenge of the greatest caliber is how to control such a large urban area, with a high population density and a large industrial fabric, where 2 million are produced daily. of displacements.

As the regulations are designed so far, a person may, for example, travel 15 km by suburban train to work in the center of Madrid, and then go shopping or have a beer with their friends in any neighborhood of the capital municipality, where they live 3.2 million people.

“There are so many holes that making a control of citizens and the reasons why they are moving will be very difficult,” warned the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida.

The other criticism of the regional authorities is that now the residents of those neighborhoods with the worst incidence of the virus that had been confined to the perimeter since September 21 will be able to circulate throughout the capital city.

“What has allowed this ministerial order is to increase mobility” within the capital, stressed the regional head of Health, Enrique Ruiz Escudero.