Curfew returns to Barcelona and other tourist spots to contain coronavirus epidemics | It will not be possible to drive between 1:00 a.m.

Spanish justice authorized this Friday the establishment of a curfew night requested by the Catalan regional government in Barcelona and several tourist places in order to contain the sudden increase in coronavirus infections in recent days, driven by the Delta variant.

The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia authorized the application of the curfew between 1 and 6 a.m. Until July 23 in Barcelona and in municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants with an incidence of more than 400 cases per 10,000 inhabitants during the last seven days.

“The resolution of July 15 is authorized by which measures to restrict night-time mobility are established to contain the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic on the territory of Catalonia,” said the Catalan court.

Following this line, from this evening, the citizens of the affected populations will not be able to stay in the streets without justification between 1 and 6 a.m.

“It is a difficult measure, but necessary to stop infections, protect lives and the health system,” Catalan President Pere Aragones tweeted after the judicial approval was known.

The measure mainly concerns the municipalities of the metropolitan area of ​​Barcelona and the province of the same name, although many localities on the coast and the cities of Girona, Tarragona and Lleida are also included.

The court opted for this decision “despite its territorial and personal scope so accentuated” and “with the aim and effect of safeguarding and preserving the rights to life and to the protection of health and the stability of the health system” , he clarified.

“All of this because of the painful outcome of epidemiological clues which leaves us all in such a bad position, especially if the results by age groups are taken into account,” the judges said.

Although the duration of the night confinement has been established until July 23, the measure could be extended depending on the epidemiological evolution.

In this way, Catalonia became the second Spanish region after Valencia to re-establish a curfew to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Cantabria, Extremadura and Navarre are awaiting judicial approval to apply it in parts of their territory, while the Canary Islands court has refused to apply the measure in the archipelago.