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MADRID

‘So, can we now leave Madrid?’: Confusion over partial lockdown rules following court ruling

As Spain heads towards a three day weekend with a bank holiday that promises unseasonably warm weather, the court ruling in Madrid overturning a partial lockdown of the capital has left people confused: Can they leave the city or not?

Published: 8 October 2020 17:19 CEST
'So, can we now leave Madrid?': Confusion over partial lockdown rules following court ruling
Photo: AFP

The Madrid High Court ruled on Thursday that it would not ratify the orders placed on the city from last Friday under the new agreement between Spain’s Health Ministry and autonomous regional authorities.

Under the Health Ministry’s order, Madrid authorities barred residents from leaving the capital and nine other municipalities around it while they launched a legal appeal.

The Madrid regional court sided with the regional government in its ruling against ratifying the order, calling the restrictions “interference by public authorities in citizens’ fundamental rights without the legal mandate to support it”.

The court decision effectively means that the new measures have no legal standing and that the police have no authority to impose fines on those who break confinement limits.

However, Madrid's regional president Isabel Diaz Ayuso on Thursday urged all residents to remain within the city limits despite the bombshell court ruling.

“We ask people once again not to leave Madrid and to follow all the health recommendations, especially in the next few days given that there is a long weekend,” she said in a televised address on Thursday.

She promised to release a set of “sensible, fair and balanced” rules on Friday, to inform Madrileños of what they can and can’t do.

“Madrid’s businesses can’t carry on like this … Nobody understands the rules, nobody knows what is going on,” she said.

The restrictions had imposed a 14-day ban on people leaving the limits of the capital and nine other surrounding towns where instance of the virus is very high.

But the High Court still has to rule on whether or not to suspend the restrictions as a precautionary measure while it considers the Madrid government’s appeal.

The region has 10 days from the time it presented the appeal to file its arguments against the central government’s actions, which in turn will then have to be considered in a period of five days by judges.

Meanwhile Madrid city Mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, explained at a press conference that the court decision did not affect a raft of other restrictions which he said did not require legal ratification.

These include the limitations of social gatherings to no more than six people and the restrictions that limit occupation of bars and restaurants to half of their usual occupancy and closing times by 11pm.

But it is now not clear what which any of the new restrictions apply legally or if the previous restrictions of 45 “basic health zones” now come back into force as they were superseded by the Health Ministry orders.

The confusion generated by the ruling is the latest development in a political battle between the central government, a coalition of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) and junior partner Unidas Podemos, and the regional government run by the conservative PP in coalition with centre-right Ciudadanos and with the support of far-right Vox.

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HEALTH

Respiratory infections soar in Spain over Christmas as hospitals struggle

Cases of viral respiratory infections such as flu, Covid and bronchitis have shot up over the past few weeks in Spain, putting an enormous strain on hospitals across the country and causing a severe lack of beds.

Published: 4 January 2024 12:33 CET
Respiratory infections soar in Spain over Christmas as hospitals struggle

Winter colds and flu are common, but this year Spain has seen a spike in cases of three different viruses – flu, Covid and bronchitis at the same time.

This comes after the festive and New Year period with lots of family gatherings and meetings with friends without much thought for social distancing days of the pandemic.

Rise in cases

According to health services, there are 35 percent more cases of these infections than a year ago, a percentage that is expected to continue rising until the third week of January when the epidemic peak will be reached after more gatherings for Three Kings’ Day on January 5th and 6th.

In a period of seven days, the rates of flu have gone from 532 to 908 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The cases of Covid have also grown from 12.6 percent to 13.6 percent.

The Health Minister, Monica García has published a message on social media reminding the public of the importance of getting vaccinated and maintaining prevention measures, such as ventilating rooms, washing hands and wearing a mask.

The head of the Emergency Department at the Reina Sofía University Hospital in Murcia, explained that the profile of these patients ranges “from young people with flu pathologies who go to the emergency room because health centres have delayed their appointments and people over 80 years old with pneumonia due to the flu who end up being admitted”.

Lack of hospital beds

According to the first vice president of the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES), Pascual Piñera, 10 of patients with these infections end up admitted to hospital overnight and one of the biggest problems staff are facing is the severe lack of beds, “They have nowhere to put the sick”, he explained.

The situation is the same all over the country. Red Workers union of the La Paz University Hospital in Madrid has reported that there are 105 patients pending admission and beds in the hallways are in double rows, “which cannot be evacuated if the patient worsens or there is a fire”.

Delays in primary health care 

Acute respiratory infections not only put a strain on hospitals and emergency rooms, but also primary care centres, causing delays and long waiting times for appointments. 

The spokesperson for the Federation of Associations for the Defence of Public Health (FADSP), Marciano Sánchez Bayle, explains that it is generating a “major traffic jam” in the healthcare system “where appointments are made for very late dates”.

Sánchez Bayle cites the case of the Community of Madrid, where he knows that appointments requested in December were not given until the end of January “which further clogs an already saturated system”. 

The need for greater vaccination rates 

Besides the festive period, many health professionals believe that the situation could be improved if more people were getting vaccinated, specifically against the flu. 

Flu vaccination in Spain is far below the WHO recommendations, hovering around 50 percent of the population at risk, when the goal is 75 percent. And the percentage is even lower in the case of children under five.

According to the Ministry of Health, the objectives for vaccination against flu and Covid-19 for the 2023-2024 season are to achieve or exceed vaccination coverage of 75 percent in older people and health workers, as well as 60 percent for pregnant women and people with at-risk conditions.

Amós García Rojas from Spain’s Vaccinology Association believes that after a few years without flu during the Covid pandemic, society has relaxed.

The vaccination campaign has not yet ended, so there’s still time to get yours before the end of the season. The campaign began on October 15th and ends on January 31st. 

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