Catalan Government meets urgently to agree on curfew

BarcelonaThe Government has called an emergency meeting this afternoon of the commission of covid to agree on the the curfew for Catalonia. In the meeting a decision will be made as to where the curfew will be imposed, as t he Catalan government aims to use this restriction only in worst-hit areas. In principle, the curfew would start at 1:00 am and end at 6:00 am. From 0.30 am the Generalitat has also ordered a close of all activities and restriction on access to public spaces, such as parks, squares and beaches.

The legal services of the Generalitat believe that the curfew would be approved by the Catalan High Court, which will have the last word as it is a measure that affects fundamental rights.

Before the Government convened the meeting, Barcelona City Council already took for granted that the curfew would be decreed. Security councillor Albert Batlle assured that, at first, the curfew would run for 15 days and will then be adapted according to the evolution of indicators. Batlle considered it essential that all activities in the city stop between one o'clock in the morning and six o'clock in the morning. Barcelona will be one of the municipalities where this curfew will be applied.

Diverging precedents

Nevertheless, courts have not been unanimous in backing curfews. Despite the fact that the Government is relying on the precedent set by Valencia's High Court, which authorised the curfew in 32 municipalities due to the incidence of the pandemic, other regional courts overruled the measure: the Canary Islands' High Court refused the regional government's request for a cerfew in Tenerife, which is suffering from a large outbreak. Other communities such as Cantabria will also seek to impose a curfew.

At the moment the High Court has already backed the 10-person limit on gatherings and the closure of all activities between 0.30 am in Catalonia. These restrictions will come into force in a few hours from now, once the Government has published the measures in the Official Journal of the Generalitat (DOGC).