'Disproportionate' lockdown of virus hit Catalan city overturned by court

'Disproportionate' lockdown of virus hit Catalan city overturned by court
The city of Lleida. Credit: Pixabay

A Spanish court has suspended the decision to send the Catalan city of Lleida into an extensive lockdown.

Authorities in Catalonia had ordered that residents of the area around Lleida be confined to their homes due to a sharp increase in the number of coronavirus (Covid-19) cases. The affected area, with more than 200,000 inhabitants, had already been isolated from the rest of Catalonia last Saturday.

The conditions were similar to the confinement imposed in mid-March, with people living in the area only allowed to leave their homes to go to work, seek medical treatment or buy food, and with meetings of more than 10 people being prohibited.

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“The Lleida Custody Court has decided not to ratify the measures of the 12 July resolution” taken by the regional government, the Catalan Supreme Court said on Twitter, saying the decision was “contrary to the law.” The decision can reportedly be subject to appeal.

“The proportionality of this heavy restrictive measure must be based on the existence of a serious and very significant transmission of the virus at a community level,” the Court argued. “According to the figures presented, we consider that the general isolation at home, among other limitations, is disproportionate in the light of the data” the they were given.

The outbreak of contagions in Lleida is reportedly linked to the movement of seasonal agricultural workers currently harvesting fruit in Northern Spain.

Other regions in Spain, including in Galicia and the Basque Country, are also facing new coronavirus outbreaks.

Jason Spinks

The Brussels Times


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