Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez approved a new state of alarm with the intention of extending it for as long as 6 months, until May 9th 2021.
This new state of alarm will have an initial validity of 15 days and establishes, among other measures, a nightly curfew. The majority of Spain’s autonomous communities requested that a State of Alarm be decreed by Government in order to allow them to impose the curfew and a raft of other new restrictions.
The curfew is obligatory nationwide, but autonomous communities will have the option to begin the night time restriction of movement forward or back by an hour. The curfew begins at 11pm, but in the Valencian Community, authorities have decided it will begin at midnight. Citizens are asked to remain in their homes until 6am. The only exception is the Canary Islands, which has the lowest Covid-19 figures in all of Spain. The Canaries will be exempt from the curfew in a bid to help the tourism sector there. The curfew in the rest of Spain is in place until November 9th, but Valencian Community President Ximo Puig will be extending the measure here until December 9th.
Under the state of alarm, the regions will also be allowed to restrict movement in and out of their own territories (unless for essential reasons such as work or healthcare appointments). In the past, regions bordering Madrid had been looking for ways to implement this, in order to close their borders to a neighbouring area with high numbers. Up until now, this was impossible to bring about but under the new state of alarm, the regions are allowed to close their borders.
Spain’s national border will not close, as was the case during the first state of alarm back in March.
Other measures now in place limit groups of people to six, in public and in private. Eating or drinking at a bar is not allowed, patrons must be seated at a table for service.
The government has assured citizens that it does not intend to return to a total lockdown, the kind we saw in March, but it is hoped that the night time curfew will bring infection rates down. It is estimated that nearly a third of all transmissions are occurring at social events in people’s homes. The closure of nightclubs and late drinking establishments, and the requirement of pubs to close early, has not worked as many people were continuing to party in their own homes after last orders.
Parks and outdoor spaces will be closed at 10pm at night. In addition, the Generalitat Valenciana recommends postponing family events that are not urgent and limiting social activity as much as possible.
Curfew rules
The curfew rules mean that citizens are not allowed out between midnight and 6am, except: if you have to go to work, or are returning to your residence after work during the hours of curfew; if you are caring for an elderly or underage dependant, or a person with a disability; or for another justifiable cause. Cars, taxis and other public service vehicles are allowed on the roads for the transfer of persons under the aforementioned exceptional circumstances, or to refuel. Night time waste collection and urban cleaning vehicles are also allowed on the roads during curfew.
Authorities are already issuing fines for those breaking curfew. For example, Elche police issued 104 denuncias during the first night of curfew. 49 people were fined for not wearing masks, 55 people were booked for civil disobedience (mostly, consuming alcohol in public which is not allowed under current rules). 24 people were fined for being in groups numbering more than six.