Date Published: 15/02/2021
ARCHIVED - Illegal gatherings broken up all over Spain this weekend as coronavirus cases continue to fall
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Despite multiple warning from the authorities before the weekend of the danger of relaxing precautions, illegal gatherings were detected in regions such as Madrid, Ibiza, Alicante, Basque Country and Navarra, among others
Spain is slowly consolidating a gradual decrease in coronavirus contagions, with newly diagnosed positive case numbers continuing to fall in many regions. However, caution appeared to fly to the wind in many areas with multiple illegal parties broken up by the police over a weekend which, in normal pre-pandemic times, would have marked carnival celebrations.
Three large parties were detected in the capital city alone. The police found more than 50 people partying at a tourist apartment in Madrid city centre and reported that when they arrived on the scene the organisers tried to stop anyone from leaving, eventually leading to eight arrests for resisting authority and illegal detention. Another illegal party was tracked down in central Madrid with 66 people in attendance, 11 of them under 18. The final large-scale party reported in the capital city was at a leisure venue, with 45 people reported for failing to abide by the rules and the venue was also fined for surpassing its permitted capacity.
Another such party was detected in an abandoned warehouse in Ibiza, with 25 youngsters in attendance, while police in Alicante broke up 20 parties at private homes and three large street parties and reported 142 people for failing to obey State of Emergency regulations. In the Basque Country, two men were arrested in Bilbao and Urnieta (Gipuzkoa) for attempting to harm police officers who reproached them for failing to wear face masks, and a party of eight, none of them registered residents, was broken up at a private property in Abadiño (Bizkaia). In Navarra, a total of 45 people were reported by the police for failing to meet anti-Covid regulations, some of them at eight street parties (at one of which a young man was arrested) and at six parties, one on a cattle farm.
Meanwhile various areas of the country have started to report positive progress where infection rates are concerned. Catalonia entered a so-called control phase on Sunday as it has managed to reduce its number of positive test results by five per cent, although there are still 638 people in ICUs.
There were 1,338 new cases and another 43 deaths reported in 24 hours. Madrid reported 835 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday compared to the 2,660 on Saturday, and 45 deaths. Valencia ended its second week of drops in infection rates and hospital admittances, although deaths remain high. Andalusia reported a considerable drop in deaths and new cases, with just 44 deaths registered following a five-day streak of more than 100 a day.
Extremadura saw a considerable drop in deaths (four) and a slight increase in new cases (102). Figures also fell in Murcia, with 118 new cases and nine deaths. Navarra followed the trend with its number of new positive cases falling to 56 and a day with no deaths to report on Saturday, while Castilla y León saw its infections fall by 47.06 per cent compared to the day before and just 18 deaths compared to 30 on the previous day. The Basque Country reported 423 new positive cases while in La Rioja, pressure on the ICUs has started to be relieved and the incidence rate fell to 483.