Street parties in Spain to end the state of alarm: “We came to get drunk, the result does not matter to us”

Improvised celebrations took to the streets of different places in Spain since midnight Saturday, when six month alarm state expired to fight coronavirus infections and curfews have been lifted in many areas.

At Madrid, the police expelled the people who were celebrating in the square Sun Gate, where scenes of people dancing without masks and singing in groups were reminiscent of the nightlife before the pandemic. Thus, since midnight, hundreds of people gathered in different parts of the capital where the participants, most without masks, shouted slogans called “Alcohol, we have come to get drunk and the result does not matter to us”. Too, most carried bottles of alcohol that they did not try to hide.

Teens and young adults have also filled the central plazas and beaches of Barcelona with the relaxation of restrictions. Screams, applause, music and even firecrackers exploded in the city’s maritime district as the clocks struck at midnight and hundreds of young people left their homes towards the beach, where a party was improvised without too much. of covid precautions.

“It seems like the end of the yearSaid Oriol Corbella, 28, who had gone out for a walk with his partner at night. “It is to return a little to normality, to find freedom, but we must keep in mind that the virus is still there.”, He said something amazed by the festivities held on the beach in Barcelona, ​​which were observed in other parts of the country.

Juan Cadavid, a 25-year-old resident of the Catalan capital, admitted the situation was somewhat frightening due to COVID-19, but said he wanted to feel surrounded by people. He also celebrated the possibility of being able to resume work at a Michelin-starred restaurant, which has been closed for seven months due to restrictions linked to the pandemic.

Local restaurants will again be able to serve dinner from Sunday and open until 23:00. But the limit of four people per table and the limit of 30% of the interior capacity are maintained.

With the end of the state of alarm, the veto on movements between regions in Spain were also lifted and many limits on social gatherings were relaxed. Only four of the country’s 19 autonomous regions and cities maintained curfews.

From now on, restrictions on the fundamental rights of citizens remain in the hands of the autonomous communities and what the courts dictate.

There are three measures in force until this Sunday that restrict fundamental rights and which, to continue to be applied, must be approved by the courts: limits to social gatherings, curfews and closures of communities, provinces or municipalities.

In the capital, Blanca Valls is dying to go to Galicia (north-west) next weekend for a birthday. “I was up to not being able to leave (the Madrid region), I felt frustrated, attached, without freedom”He told the AFP this 46-year-old jewelry designer.

With the exception of Christmas, where restrictions were relaxed for a few days to allow family reunification, the Spaniards have not been able to leave their regions since the state of alert began at the end of October.

Discouraged by the explosion of cases that followed Christmas, the authorities kept the regions closed for Holy Week, a fundamental family holiday in Spain. On the other hand, the country has remained open to foreign tourists, which has generated great discomfort among many Spaniards deprived of travel between regions.

Despite criticism from some regional presidents and opposition leaders, the center-left coalition in the national government refused to extend the state of alert, which provided a legal framework to impose strict measures against the virus which restricted fundamental freedoms.

Government President Pedro Sánchez said current regulations should be sufficient to respond to outbreaks at the regional level as the vaccination rate increases.

The infection rate per 100,000 population for 14 days fell to 198 new cases in Spain on Friday, although the regions of Madrid, in the center, and the Basque Country, in the north, had more than double. Hospital occupancy rates remain high, with more than one in five intensive care beds occupied by patients with COVID-19.

(With information from AP, AFP, Europa Press)

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