National Emergency for 6 months declared in Spain

On Sunday, a national state of emergency was announced by Spain along with a curfew for the whole country excluding the Canary Islands, to cap the spread of coronavirus. According to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s speech, this emergency will be continued till early May. He emphasized on the fact that extreme measures have been taken for this severe situation.

Emergency Regulations

The regulations were decided at a 2.5 hour cabinet meeting which was held on Sunday; the below mentioned measures were imposed on Spanish regions. 

As per a government statement, overnight curfew will be active from 11pm to 6am. Previously it was till 5 in the morning. Earlier, the state of emergency was to be imposed for just 15 days but with the current situation in view, the government asked the parliament for a six month emergency. 

The prime minister added that if the situation improved, the restrictions could be eased before the expected timeline. “The state of emergency is the most effective tool to lower the rate of infection” he argued. 

Over a million cases of the virus and approximately 35,000 deaths have been recorded in Spain, making it the first European country to do so.

Powers to the regions

The provisions of the current situation will permit the regions to restrict movement in and out of their lands and they will have the power to stretch the curfew by whatever time they consider to be appropriate according to their local conditions. 

Prime Minister Sanchez asserted that he wants to steer clear of a second severe lockdown due to the virus.

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