The sentence declaring the first state of alarm approved by the Spanish government in March 2020 unconstitutional has made evident what had already been sensed for some time: the extreme politicisation, and also division, of a court which, instead of being a generator of consensus and legal security, has become another stage in the struggle between conservative and progressive Spain. The fracture is growing in a court in which four members' mandates have expired and which the right wing People's Party refuses to renew due to its current conservative majority. The same is true of other bodies such as the Court of Auditors or the General Council of the Judiciary.

After the worst part of the pandemic, the Constitutional Court (CC) will have to decide from June 22 on whether the first state of alarm called at the beginning of the pandemic was lawful or not. Vox appealed against the measure because it considered it to be a "flagrant violation", given that, in its opinion, the Spanish government used it in an "abusive and unjustified" manner and thus violated citizens fundamental rights.

Pedro Sánchez decided not to extend the state of alarm in good measure due to the proximity of elections in Madrid. He did not want the issue to capitalise headlines in the lead up to the vote. The measure would be lifted and that was that. But not even this managed to avoid the PSOE's electoral thrashing last Tuesday, with the loss of more than a third of its votes and being overtaken by Más País. Since then the government has tried to look the other way and not get mired in the judicial chaos arising from the lack of a legal framework for health restrictions.

This Sunday will go down in our little particular history as the day when we all had the feeling that the end of the pandemic nightmare was closer, that we were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The recovery of night-time mobility and the opening of bars and restaurants until 11pm represent a before and after since 29 October, in the middle of the second wave, when a six-month state of alarm was approved in Parliament. Since then there has been a third wave, while the fourth has been kept at bay.

No curfew, no limitations on meetings in public spaces during the night, no maximum number of people per table in the hospitality industry (only a "recommendation" of four inside and six outdoors) and an extra hour of opening time for bars and restaurants, from 23 h to 00 h. This is how the restrictions will change in the Community of Madrid once the state of alarm is lifted. After her landslide victory in the elections on May 4, the president of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, continues with her policy of maintaining minimum restrictions in the Spanish capital. While maintaining the perimeter confinement of different basic health areas - those with an incidence of more than 250 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days - despite not having proven to be effective, Madrid will continue without perimeter confinement as before, with the novelty that Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha are not expected to request it. Therefore, for the first time in six months - except for the Christmas break - it will be possible to move freely through neighbouring regions.

The cabinet has approved on Tuesday a decree in which, in addition to extending social measures, it establishes mechanisms to prevent Autonomous Communities encountering different criteria in their respective High Courts of Justice: once the state of alarm ends at 00 hours on Sunday, May 9, regional governments may appeal in cassation before the high court if their covid restrictions are repealed. The first vice president and minister of the Presidency, Carmen Calvo, explained at a press conference that this will give regions a legal tool to maintain restrictions on fundamental freedoms depending on the evolution of the pandemic.

The curfew and travel restrictions limiting travel outside Catalonia will end on Sunday, once the current state of alarm has been lifted. Government has announced this Tuesday that they will end on Saturday at midnight, but, on the other hand, they will maintain the six-people limit on gatherings. This measure will have to receive the endorsement of the Catalonia's High Court. The change in restrictions will come into force at the same time as those advanced on Friday, such as the reopening of restoration until 11 pm.

In spite of the fact that the Government says that from now on the restrictions will be known "with enough time", the reality is that it does not specify what measures it will present to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) next week in order to maintain them. This anticipation that the Generalitat has defended is forced because on Sunday 9 May the current state of alarm will cease to apply and the covid restrictions that affect fundamental rights will have to go before the judges. The curfew, the limitation of moving between territories, and the establishment of a maximum number of people in the meetings are the main measures that need judicial endorsement. In none of the three cases Home Affairs and Health have clarified what they want to do when the state of alarm is over.

It is not yet known whether the Catalan Government will extend the restrictions in force next week, but all eyes are fixed on May 9. Uncertainty around what will happen in Catalonia once the current state of alarm elapses has intensified in recent days. The Catalan administration hopes to keep the curfew in place and that is why the executive council will approve a modification to decree law 27/2020 to try to shield it. This is the decree law made in a hurry in summer when a Lleida judge overturned the Segrià area lockdown. This does not guarantee that Catalonia's High Court, which after the end of the state of alarm will supervise the measures, will endorse the curfew. Nevertheless, the Government remains confident.

The current state of alarm, which runs out on 9 May, is coming to an end. That is why the Government is preparing to shield the restrictions it wants to maintain, which will then have to go to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) if they affect fundamental rights. One of the measures that need judicial endorsement is the curfew -which precisely applies since the current state of alarm began, on October 25-. The Generalitat has assured that it is considering applying it without the state of alarm and is studying the modification of a decree law to try to get the approval of the TSJC for nighttime lockdown.

In six months, the Spanish government has changed its position from defending that no measures could be approved without a state of alarm to claiming "almost everything" can be done. And with each passing day the Spanish believes more measures are possible without the protection granted bu the state of alarm, which allows the restriction of fundamental rights. At the end of October, the Spanish Parliament approved a six-month state of alarm to be able to impose the curfew and also restrict travel between communities. The then Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, claimed it was the only possible option. However, the first vice president of the Spanish government, Carmen Calvo, has defended this Thursday that once the state of alarm ends after May 9, the ban on travel between regions can continue.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Tuesday that the state of alarm, the rule that covers mobility restrictions to deal with the pandemic, will end on May 9, as he believes no extension will be needed. The Spanish government's argument is that with the acceleration of vaccination after this date, restrictions as severe as the current ones will no longer be necessary. The real reason for Sánchez not to consider an extension, however, is that he wants to avoid a political negotiation during the Madrid election campaign on 4 May. So, we find ourselves, once again, with the political calendar interfering in public health decisions.

Pedro Sánchez has decided to advance de-escalation with the prospect of early elections on May 4 for the Madrid regional government. Instead of defending the measures taken so far and facing Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who campaigns for laxity especially in the hospitality industry, the Socialists have clung to the forecast of acceleration of vaccination thanks to the incorporation of Janssen doses from April 15 to rule out, for the moment, the extension of the state of alarm beyond May 9.

Pedro Sánchez has kicked off the second quarter of 2021 with the announcement of millions of coronavirus vaccines to overturn the failure to meet the objectives set for the end of March, when it was expected that 80% of people over 80 years would be vaccinated, a promise that has not been fulfilled in Catalonia, for example.

The arrival of the pandemic of covid-19 caught everyone off guard, but some people knew how to react better and faster than the rest and took the grand prize of providing the administrations with health material, the most precious good at a time of total shortage.

A year ago, the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, appeared to announce that a state of alarm was in force, home lockdown was imposed, and the movements of the population were restricted to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which at that time was already punishing half the planet. Although it was a measure that had been gaining strength in the previous days, the population was in a state of shock. It had been a century since there had been a pandemic of this magnitude or since lockdown had to be put into place, which in the collective imagination was only foreseen for cases of coups d'état or war. The presence of the military added drama (and perhaps authoritarianism) to the press conferences, despite the fact that when it came down to it, the population respected the restrictions.

The president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, announced on Wednesday from Parliament, where he takes stock of the current state of alarm, that the council of ministers will approve in the "coming weeks" an aid package of 11,000 million euros for businesses, SMEs and self-employed workers. In his view, it is a "significant amount" of resources to support sectors that were growing before the pandemic and are now in an "extremely difficult situation", such as the tourist sector, hospitality, hotels, and small businesses.