Date Published: 27/10/2020
ARCHIVED - Police controls intensified in Murcia to impose curfew
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Throughout Murcia the curfew becomes active from 23:00 and remains in place until 06:00.
The national declaration of state of emergency on Sunday and additional measures imposed by the Murcian regional Government are yet another set of restrictions designed to try and limit the spread of coronavirus, to which residents must try and adjust as part of their daily lives.
For many, the imposition of a curfew is the hardest to cope with, as this in turn places restrictions on so many other activities.
Across the region those working in the cultural sector are busy trying to re-programme cultural events to ensure that concerts and cinema showings have concluded by 10pm, giving concert-goers time to return to their homes before the 23:00 curfew begins. It goes without saying that if you have purchased tickets for any cultural events this autumn, that the start times should be reviewed, as they will probably have changed in order to accommodate the curfew.
Restaurants are also asking people to eat earlier; not a difficult request for most foreigners who are accustomed to eating early, but for the Spanish national population this is a big ask, as it’s quite normal to book a table for 21:30 or 22:00. On Monday the town hall of Murcia City launched a raft of measures designed to bring all activity in the city to a halt at 22:00, the aim being to ensure the public had plenty of time to conclude their activity and return home by 23:00.
Although the situation across the region is extremely worrying, with a regional average of 333 cases per 100,000 of population on Monday, it is of particualr concern to the health service due to the pressure already being applied to hospitals; extra beds for covid patients are being created in the regional hospitals to use space normally allocated for post-surgical recovery, but obviously this will result in the cancellation of non-urgent operations.
But there are also plans to rigidly enforce this curfew, not only in Murcia, but all over Spain, and police and army will be increasing their patrols in order to ensure that the curfew is observed.
The first few days of the curfew will be much the same as on previous occasions when new measures have been introduced, in that the local police, national police and Guardia Civíl will be ensuring that the public is adequately informed of the new regulations and acting in an informative capacity rather than seeking to actively impose sanctions.
But the state of emergency now gives specific powers to enforce the conditions of the SoE, so by the weekend, patrols will be increased substantially and those failing to respect the curfew can expect fines to be issued.
The army is not empowered to issue fines, but can assist with the additional work of patrolling and imposing movement restrictions.
There is particular concern to limit the activity of young people, who for the large part are at the centre of many outbreaks, spreading contagion into the family environment following social events, and with the weekend of All Saints and All Souls looming, on which Halloween parties and family gatherings are generally widespread, police patrols will be paying particular attention to areas in which young people generally gather, to try and prevent any festive gatherings.
In the neighbouring Valencia Region, the regional government has even issued a statement encouraging residents to advise the police if they witness illegal gatherings, in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus.