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BALEARIC ISLANDS

Spain’s top court lifts curfew and restrictions for meetings in the Balearic Islands 

Spain’s Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the curfew and the limit of people in meetings in private imposed by the Balearic Islands after the end of the state of alarm, considering the restrictions disproportionate for the islands’ low infection rate.

Published: 3 June 2021 16:34 CEST
Spain's top court lifts curfew and restrictions for meetings in the Balearic Islands 
An 11pm curfew has been maintained in the Balearics since the end of Spain's state of alarm. Photo: Pau Barrena/AFP

Spain’s Supreme Court has cancelled the midnight curfew and the limit of six people for meetings in private settings on the Mediterranean islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. 

According to the judges, the measures that were kept in place in the Balearics despite Spain’s state of alarm ending on May 11th go against citizens’ fundamental rights and “exceed the judgment of proportionality” in a region where the fortnightly Covid infection rate is currently 38.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. 

This puts the Spanish archipelago in the “low” infection risk category for regions and provinces with infection rates below 50 cases per 100,000 people.

In theory, it would also allow the regional government to open bars and nightclubs until 3am under a new set of eased restrictions rolled out by the central government on Thursday.

However, the Balearic regional government is apprehensive about this, especially as they hope to welcome back international tourists soon and want to keep their infection rate as low as possible.

“We’re still in favour of a slow easing of restrictions, we know we have a lot at stake,” Balearic Health Councillor Patricia Gómez told journalists on Thursday.

Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that caution wasn’t enough of a reason for Balearic authorities to keep such measures in place. 

Imposing measures such as a curfew or limits on gatherings is still possible even without the state of alarm, judges argued, but they have to be truly justified in that they serve to protect public health.

The curfew in the Balearics was actually due to end this weekend but the ruling is important as it’s the first time that the Supreme Court gives its verdict on regional curfews.

It also sets a precedent for similar post-state of alarm restrictions imposed in the Valencian region, where there is also a curfew, and Catalonia , Extremadura , the Canary Islands or Aragon , where there are limitations on gatherings.

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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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