The Generalitat sets up a curfew to control the spread of the coronavirus
The president of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, has announced new measures against the Covid-19 pandemic which will come into force from dawn on 24th October
![[Img #80135]](http://el7set.es/upload/images/10_2020/9862_covid_19.jpg)
The Generalitat Valenciana, through the Health Consellería, has approved a series of measures to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic which will come into force from dawn on 24th October and which will last until the 9th November. There are five measures, among which specifically is the establishment of a curfew during the night, as well as the recommendation to limit family interaction.
The new measures consist of the restriction on movement during the night throughout the Comunitat Valenciana between 12 midnight and 6am in the morning. During this time frame only people who are going to work or those who are returning to their homes at the end of their working day will be able to travel through the streets, as well as those who have to trave due to force majeure, such as in a medical emergency or for attention to a dependent person.
The maximum number of participants at family or social reunions is limited to six people in public spaces and also in private places for people who do not live together.
Gardens and recreation areas in the open air will remain open only until 10pm.
Regarding bars, restaurants, cafes and other establishments related to hospitality and restaurants, only table service is permitted, with purchasing at the bar prohibited, tables will be limited to a maximum of 6 people and the establishments will be obliged to close at 12 midnight.
Also the sale of alcohol is prohibited between 10pm and 8am, except in hospitality and restaurant establishments.
The Generalitat Valenciana recommends that family and social activities should be postponed where they are not essential, so that social activities are limited during the next few weeks.
The president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, spoke to citizens to communicate these new restrictive measures to combat the spread of Covid-19, indicating that “the evolution of the pandemic in our territory forces us to adopt new measures” with the primordial object of protecting health.
In spite of the incidence of the virus in the Comunitat Valenciana being the lowest among Spain’s peninsular communities and this includes being lower that our surrounding European countries such as Portugal, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, Puig said that “we have no time to lose. The situation is getting worse and we must act with force. Because losing time, now, means losing lives, employment and well-being”.
According to the president, the measures are based on three focal points, “prevention, responsibility and unity”.
As a self-government, the Generalitat Valenciana is granted competences in health and the 1986 Ley Orgánica de Medidas Especiales en Materia de Salud Pública authorises the adoption of measures to control transmissible illnesses if there is an “imminent and extraordinary risk” for the population, the Health Consellería believes that the risk at the moment is “undeniable” as the detected cases have doubled during the last week in the Comunitat Valenciana compared with the previous week. “For this reason, we believe that it is urgent to reinforce the measures which could put a brake on the spread of the virus and protect health”.
Ximo Puig has qualified that the Generalitat is in favour of a common solution for the whole of Spain, able to be modulated according to the situation in each territory, to deal better with this second wave of the pandemic. “We believe that this common solution is necessary, that we can no longer be dependent on the tribunals and hospitals, that now is not the time for discussions, but for solutions”.
In this way “until there is a joint response, the Comunitat Valenciana is not going to stay waiting. We cannot waste even just one day. What we are playing is too important and therefore, we are making our way”.
For the adoption of these measures the president explained that he had listened to all the political, business, unions and institutional agents in the Comunitat Valencia. And all of them share, with the Consell, the need for new, stricter measures. He is grateful for their predisposition to continue working – until the action is unified – in favour of the general interest of the Comunitat Valenciana”.
In view of the worsening epidemiological situation, Puig indicates that “it is essential to react forcefully, because to lose time now means losing lives, employment and wellbeing”.
“We cannot put off preventing the concentration and wandering about of people in the night fringe which produces bottle parties and private parties in a person’s home”, given that 2 of every 3 outbreaks have a social origin, with a great incidence in the unregulated nocturnal leisure. In just three months, the Justice Conselleria has received more than 20,000 deeds of sanction proposal for non-compliance with the Covid prevention measures. More than 20,000. And the focus of infection of 90% of them is derived from social meetings and parties contrary to the health regulation which were held in chalets, homes or country houses.
“All this forms part of our way of understanding life. And it is good, we like being like this. But now it cannot be done. Nor tolerated. There are already enough irresponsible people who put our older people, the vulnerable groups, health staff and any other citizen, in danger. I repeat: enough isolated irresponsibility towards a society which, in its immense majority, is making an enormous effort. It will be an effort, we know. But, what is the alternative? We know only too well. And we do not want it”, Puig declared.
The Consell and the Generalitat’s Lawyers consider that these new measures are the right ones, because they restrict the traffic and staying on the public streets; They are necessary, because there do not exist more moderate measures for this purpose with so much efficiency and they are proportionate, because the times chosen for limiting movement has more benefits for the general interest than damage to assets and values in conflict.
This resolution, which is published immediately, will be sent to the Tribunal Superior de Justicia in the Comunitat Valenciana for its ratification.
“Thus the new protection measures are already coming into force this morning from the UNA. Because we cannot wait any longer. This morning I met with the Government delegate and with those responsible members of the forces and security bodies to ask them for their maximum cooperation in guaranteeing compliance with these new measures. Also, I announced that I will ask the Government to declare a State of Emergency”, the president of the Generalitat announced, insisting that “it is the most useful legal framework to face up to this difficult situation from the unity of action and with the spirit of co-governance”.
“In this way, I make an appeal to all the autonomous governments and to the parliamentary forces represented in Congress, to second this proposal before it is too late. We are not focussing the responsibility: not governments, not oppositions. We are not here to confront, but to help and to protect the citizens. We are in the midst of a global pandemic: which no-one should forget”.
“Women and men of Valencia: You already know that this route is long and difficult. We have done well. We are doing well. But we have to do even better. Let us remember how we were going shopping in March: with every precaution possible. Let us remember how we were maintaining safe distance in April: in a strict way. Today I am asking that we return to these levels of precaution. Because it is thus that we were reducing the number of the sick: From 2,200 hospitalised to 51. From 386 people in ICU, to 4”.
“Now we have 808 in hospital and 125 in ICU. It is a third of those we had six months ago, certainly. But the cases are developing rapidly. Today we have detected 1,690 new positive cases, the maximum registered so far in the Valencian Community. Many of them are asymptomatic and a high percentage are young. But we cannot close our eyes; We cannot wait to be worse before we react. If we were to compare with spring, we are now being protected by a greater shield: 1,469 trackers, 10,000 reinforcement health workers, double the number of hospital beds, a great capacity to carry out PCR tests, and protection reserves for 6 months”.
Ximo Puig has made an appeal to the Valencian citizens, “we must all change the chip. And change the YA chip. Above all the regulations are the joint responsibility of everyone. In this cause, the young have a crucial role. Because you are the future and because this community will be what you decide it is. You have been in the vanguard in conscience for the planet, for equality and for diversity. And I have great faith in you. Now is the moment for the whole population to make a greater effort. To get to Christmas in the best social, family and commercial conditions. Not to strangle the economy and daily life with measures which no-one wants. This is – if you allow me it – the time for civic patriotism: The patriotism of the values which unite us. The Responsibility of a mature society which assumes its obligations. The Solidarity with who can fall ill or lose their life. The Fraternity of those who are not indifferent to the health and to the economic and work situation of their fellow men and women. It is the time for this responsible, supportive and fraternal patriotism. Women and men of Valencia: We achieved it when we were much worse. Now we will come back to achieve it again”.
The Generalitat Valenciana, through the Health Consellería, has approved a series of measures to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic which will come into force from dawn on 24th October and which will last until the 9th November. There are five measures, among which specifically is the establishment of a curfew during the night, as well as the recommendation to limit family interaction.
The new measures consist of the restriction on movement during the night throughout the Comunitat Valenciana between 12 midnight and 6am in the morning. During this time frame only people who are going to work or those who are returning to their homes at the end of their working day will be able to travel through the streets, as well as those who have to trave due to force majeure, such as in a medical emergency or for attention to a dependent person.
The maximum number of participants at family or social reunions is limited to six people in public spaces and also in private places for people who do not live together.
Gardens and recreation areas in the open air will remain open only until 10pm.
Regarding bars, restaurants, cafes and other establishments related to hospitality and restaurants, only table service is permitted, with purchasing at the bar prohibited, tables will be limited to a maximum of 6 people and the establishments will be obliged to close at 12 midnight.
Also the sale of alcohol is prohibited between 10pm and 8am, except in hospitality and restaurant establishments.
The Generalitat Valenciana recommends that family and social activities should be postponed where they are not essential, so that social activities are limited during the next few weeks.
The president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, spoke to citizens to communicate these new restrictive measures to combat the spread of Covid-19, indicating that “the evolution of the pandemic in our territory forces us to adopt new measures” with the primordial object of protecting health.
In spite of the incidence of the virus in the Comunitat Valenciana being the lowest among Spain’s peninsular communities and this includes being lower that our surrounding European countries such as Portugal, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, Puig said that “we have no time to lose. The situation is getting worse and we must act with force. Because losing time, now, means losing lives, employment and well-being”.
According to the president, the measures are based on three focal points, “prevention, responsibility and unity”.
As a self-government, the Generalitat Valenciana is granted competences in health and the 1986 Ley Orgánica de Medidas Especiales en Materia de Salud Pública authorises the adoption of measures to control transmissible illnesses if there is an “imminent and extraordinary risk” for the population, the Health Consellería believes that the risk at the moment is “undeniable” as the detected cases have doubled during the last week in the Comunitat Valenciana compared with the previous week. “For this reason, we believe that it is urgent to reinforce the measures which could put a brake on the spread of the virus and protect health”.
Ximo Puig has qualified that the Generalitat is in favour of a common solution for the whole of Spain, able to be modulated according to the situation in each territory, to deal better with this second wave of the pandemic. “We believe that this common solution is necessary, that we can no longer be dependent on the tribunals and hospitals, that now is not the time for discussions, but for solutions”.
In this way “until there is a joint response, the Comunitat Valenciana is not going to stay waiting. We cannot waste even just one day. What we are playing is too important and therefore, we are making our way”.
For the adoption of these measures the president explained that he had listened to all the political, business, unions and institutional agents in the Comunitat Valencia. And all of them share, with the Consell, the need for new, stricter measures. He is grateful for their predisposition to continue working – until the action is unified – in favour of the general interest of the Comunitat Valenciana”.
In view of the worsening epidemiological situation, Puig indicates that “it is essential to react forcefully, because to lose time now means losing lives, employment and wellbeing”.
“We cannot put off preventing the concentration and wandering about of people in the night fringe which produces bottle parties and private parties in a person’s home”, given that 2 of every 3 outbreaks have a social origin, with a great incidence in the unregulated nocturnal leisure. In just three months, the Justice Conselleria has received more than 20,000 deeds of sanction proposal for non-compliance with the Covid prevention measures. More than 20,000. And the focus of infection of 90% of them is derived from social meetings and parties contrary to the health regulation which were held in chalets, homes or country houses.
“All this forms part of our way of understanding life. And it is good, we like being like this. But now it cannot be done. Nor tolerated. There are already enough irresponsible people who put our older people, the vulnerable groups, health staff and any other citizen, in danger. I repeat: enough isolated irresponsibility towards a society which, in its immense majority, is making an enormous effort. It will be an effort, we know. But, what is the alternative? We know only too well. And we do not want it”, Puig declared.
The Consell and the Generalitat’s Lawyers consider that these new measures are the right ones, because they restrict the traffic and staying on the public streets; They are necessary, because there do not exist more moderate measures for this purpose with so much efficiency and they are proportionate, because the times chosen for limiting movement has more benefits for the general interest than damage to assets and values in conflict.
This resolution, which is published immediately, will be sent to the Tribunal Superior de Justicia in the Comunitat Valenciana for its ratification.
“Thus the new protection measures are already coming into force this morning from the UNA. Because we cannot wait any longer. This morning I met with the Government delegate and with those responsible members of the forces and security bodies to ask them for their maximum cooperation in guaranteeing compliance with these new measures. Also, I announced that I will ask the Government to declare a State of Emergency”, the president of the Generalitat announced, insisting that “it is the most useful legal framework to face up to this difficult situation from the unity of action and with the spirit of co-governance”.
“In this way, I make an appeal to all the autonomous governments and to the parliamentary forces represented in Congress, to second this proposal before it is too late. We are not focussing the responsibility: not governments, not oppositions. We are not here to confront, but to help and to protect the citizens. We are in the midst of a global pandemic: which no-one should forget”.
“Women and men of Valencia: You already know that this route is long and difficult. We have done well. We are doing well. But we have to do even better. Let us remember how we were going shopping in March: with every precaution possible. Let us remember how we were maintaining safe distance in April: in a strict way. Today I am asking that we return to these levels of precaution. Because it is thus that we were reducing the number of the sick: From 2,200 hospitalised to 51. From 386 people in ICU, to 4”.
“Now we have 808 in hospital and 125 in ICU. It is a third of those we had six months ago, certainly. But the cases are developing rapidly. Today we have detected 1,690 new positive cases, the maximum registered so far in the Valencian Community. Many of them are asymptomatic and a high percentage are young. But we cannot close our eyes; We cannot wait to be worse before we react. If we were to compare with spring, we are now being protected by a greater shield: 1,469 trackers, 10,000 reinforcement health workers, double the number of hospital beds, a great capacity to carry out PCR tests, and protection reserves for 6 months”.
Ximo Puig has made an appeal to the Valencian citizens, “we must all change the chip. And change the YA chip. Above all the regulations are the joint responsibility of everyone. In this cause, the young have a crucial role. Because you are the future and because this community will be what you decide it is. You have been in the vanguard in conscience for the planet, for equality and for diversity. And I have great faith in you. Now is the moment for the whole population to make a greater effort. To get to Christmas in the best social, family and commercial conditions. Not to strangle the economy and daily life with measures which no-one wants. This is – if you allow me it – the time for civic patriotism: The patriotism of the values which unite us. The Responsibility of a mature society which assumes its obligations. The Solidarity with who can fall ill or lose their life. The Fraternity of those who are not indifferent to the health and to the economic and work situation of their fellow men and women. It is the time for this responsible, supportive and fraternal patriotism. Women and men of Valencia: We achieved it when we were much worse. Now we will come back to achieve it again”.
