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With the resurgence of the coronavirus in Europe, the Spanish government declared on Sunday (NZT on Monday) a national state of emergency that includes a night curfew in hopes of not repeating the near collapse of the country’s hospitals.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the decision to restrict free movement on the streets of Spain between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. allows exceptions to go to work, buy medicine, and care for older and younger family members. . He said the curfew goes into effect Sunday night and will likely remain in effect for six months.
“The reality is that Europe and Spain are immersed in a second wave of the pandemic,” Sánchez said during a national speech after meeting with his Cabinet. “The situation we live in is extreme.”
The leaders of the 17 regions of Spain and two autonomous cities will have the authority to modify the curfew in their territory to begin between 10: 00-12: 00 pm and end between 5: 00-7: 00 am, close the regional borders to travel and limit meetings. six people who do not live together, the prime minister said.
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The curfew does not apply to Spain’s Canary Islands, which were recently removed from Britain and Germany’s list of unsafe travel destinations due to the favorable trajectory of the virus in the archipelago.
Emilio Morenatti / AP
Workers in the restaurant sector take part in a protest organized by restaurant and bar owners in Barcelona, Spain.
With a curfew on the mainland, Spain is following the example of neighboring France, where the government ordered a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for major cities and large areas of the country this week.
Health officials have focused on nightlife and partying as some of the main sources of the latest resurgence of infections.
Sánchez said that this week he will ask the lower house of Parliament to extend the state of emergency until May. As the Constitution dictates, a state of emergency cannot last more than two weeks without the endorsement of the Congress of Deputies.
The second national emergency of the pandemic in Spain is not as restrictive as the mandatory home confinement Sánchez ordered in March and lasted for six weeks before being gradually relaxed as the number of new confirmed cases declined.
Alvaro Barrientos / AP
Health officials have focused on nightlife and partying as some of the main sources of the latest resurgence of infections.
“There is no home confinement in this state of emergency, but the longer we stay home, the safer we will be. They all know what they have to do, ”the prime minister said on Sunday (NZT Monday).
Authorities want to avoid a second complete shutdown of the country of 47 million people to avoid dealing another blow to an economy that the pandemic has plunged into recession and destroyed hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Alvaro Barrientos / AP
Authorities want to avoid a second complete shutdown of the country of 47 million people to avoid dealing another blow to an economy that has plunged the pandemic into recession.
But with the infection rate picking up steam since it began to rise again in August, health experts have called for action at the national level, arguing that the crisis requires more than a patchwork of regional measures.
Several regional leaders, who run Spain’s decentralized health system, had in recent days called for the national government to declare a state of national emergency.
Alvaro Barrientos / AP
Spain this week became the first European country to exceed one million officially registered Covid-19 cases.
The state of emergency makes it easy for authorities to take swift action without having to get many types of public health restrictions approved by a judge. Some judges have rejected efforts to limit the movements of people in certain regions, which has caused confusion among the population.
Spain this week became the first European country to exceed one million officially registered Covid-19 cases. Sánchez acknowledged on Friday (Saturday NZT) in a nationally televised speech that the true number could be more than 3 million, due to testing gaps and other factors.
Spain reported nearly 20,000 new daily cases and 231 more deaths on Friday (local time), bringing the death toll in the pandemic to 34,752, but the actual death toll is likely much higher. Confirmed cases are increasing in the peninsula, the Balearic Islands and the two African enclaves of Spain.
Manu Fernández / AP
The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, acknowledged on Friday in a nationally televised speech that the real figure could be more than 3 million, due to gaps in the tests and other factors.
Under the first state of emergency, Spanish military battalions were deployed to disinfect nursing homes and establish field hospitals. Until now, this has not been necessary, as Spain’s nursing homes are better prepared and its hospitals experience a slower, albeit steady, upturn in cases.
“The loss of life must be as low as possible, but we must also protect our economy,” said Sánchez.
