Government Restrictions Set Despite Standoff With Madrid

The rift between the central Spanish government and the regional Madrid government has become open warfare as the latter had initially refused to implement the central government’s new restriction measures which were published today in the official state bulletin BOE.

However the PP led regional government of Isabel Diaz Ayuso has relented and will introduce the measures although it will appeal them in the courts.

The regional government had questioned the legitimacy of the order and is seeking legal clarificaton from the region’s chief law officer.

The measures will be implemented within 48 hours assuming that they also published the equivalent BOE for the Communidade Madrid.

The move come after it had appeared that there would be some joint agreement which would see the central government applying the same criteria for all autonomous regions including Madrid.

The government’s guidelines would allow for local lockdown measures to be implemented in areas where the infection rate had exceeded 500 per 100,000 inhabitants; whereas the Madrid regional goverment´s guidelines have been for an infection rate of 1,000 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants which presently affects 45 of the regions´s 286 “basic health areas” encompassing over 1,000,000 people or 20% of the population.

The average infection rate as a whole for Spain is 286 per 100,000 inhabitants which is itself the highest in Europe.

Should the central goverment´s restriction order be applied it would affect 10 minicipalities including the capital itself as well as Alcalá de Henares, Alcobendas, Alcorcón, Fuenlabrada, Leganés Parla, Getafe, Móstoles and Torrejón.

The measures would restrict residents movements and would only be able to enter and leave for essential business, such as to go to work, to school, to take care of a dependent or for reasons of force majeure.

In addition social gatherings are limited to six people ( private & public spaces), bars, restaurants and shops have a maximum capacity of 50% and all will need to be closed by 10pm.

To date Spain has recorded 769,000 cases of which 31,791 have died.