The accumulated incidence continues to grow in Spain, however, the Government hopes that the state of alarm will end on May 9, which will be six months old. Thus, a new legal scenario will be reached that will allow people to go out at any time or meet more than six people indoors and outdoors. A new, more unstable reality that some Autonomous Communities ask not to achieve.
What measures will fall with the end of the state of alarm
If it is not extended, the state of alarm will end on May 9. An ending of an emergency situation that will cause the fall of four concrete measures:
1. Curfew: the suspension of the freedom of movement of people at night
2. Perimeter closure: the limitation of the entrances and exits of the autonomous communities
3. Meetings: the prohibition of meetings of more than six people in both public and private spaces.
4. Capacity places of worship.
Who will make decisions about the pandemic after the state of alarm
Once the state of alarm subsides, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has assured that the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System, where the Ministry of Health and also the councilors of the Autonomous Communities are represented, will be in charge of taking the timely decisions on managing the pandemic. The truth is that the measures taken in this framework are mandatory.
The Government’s planning is that on May 9, 10% of the Spanish population, some five million inhabitants, will be vaccinated. However, according to the current rhythm of the vaccination strategy at that date, those over 70 years of age or risk groups, a group where the coronavirus poses a greater risk, will still not be immunized.
What restrictive measures can the Autonomous Communities take without a state of alarm?
Various experts consulted by Europa Press have indicated that as of May 9, the autonomous communities, although they coordinate in the Interterritorial Health Council, return to the situation prior to the state of alarm and therefore can only adopt ordinary measures in matters of health However, they indicate that for serious situations they can limit fundamental rights but only in very defined and individualized cases using the Organic Law of Special Measures in Public Health Matters of 1986.
This law in its article three states that in order to control communicable diseases, the health authority, in addition to carrying out general preventive actions, may adopt the appropriate measures to control the sick, the people who are or have been in contact with them and the immediate environment, as well as those considered necessary in the event of a risk of a transmissible nature.
Based on this, the experts indicate that perimeter closures could still be seen, but they would be from health zones, neighborhoods or, at most, from cities, never from an entire autonomous community. In addition, those closures that would be adopted by decree would have to have the endorsement of the courts. In this way, they point out that it returns to the situation that was experienced last summer, and that the regional administrations could, for example, restrict commercial and hospitality hours.
Which Autonomous Communities ask to extend the state of alarm
The Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, has been one of the first autonomous presidents to request the extension of the state of alarm because, if not, a “very delicate” situation will be experienced, with legal problems to maintain the restrictions and citizen relaxation. In an interview granted to Radio Euskadi, collected by Europa Press, Urkullu warned of the consequences that not extending the state of alarm after May 9 would entail. The Lehendakari has reiterated his “concern about how this decision manifests itself, if it has been adopted firmly and without turning back, without contrast” with the presidents of the autonomous communities, who have been “surprised”. Andalusia, Galicia, the Valencian Community, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León also expressed their reservations about not extending the state of alarm.
On the opposite side is Navarra, a community with the highest cumulative incidence in the country. Thus, the spokesman for the Community Government, Javier Remírez, has insisted that the Foral Community has “the necessary instruments” to be able to take measures to deal with Covid-19 when the state of alarm is lifted by the central government. To questions from journalists, Remírez stated that until May 9, when the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, plans to lift the state of alarm, “we will see how the situation evolves.”
The Government will extend the state of alarm if experts suggest it
The Government spokesperson and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, assured on Monday that the Executive’s forecast continues to be not to extend the state of alarm beyond May 9 and that, in any case, if it decided to do so, it would be because this is what the experts recommend and not because the autonomous communities “press or not”. Likewise, it has once again defended that it is not necessary to reform any law for the regional governments to deal with the pandemic once the state of alarm subsides, because “there is already sufficient ordinary legislation” that enables them to be able to decree the “local suspension very limited of fundamental rights in some environments, as long as it is validated by the courts”.
Facebook Comments
Disqus