A queue for screening in Madrid.

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Manu Fernandez / AP / SIPA

New restrictions aimed at tackling the coronavirus epidemic come into force this Saturday in Brussels and Madrid, while the Spanish government is considering proclaiming a state of alert at the national level to allow the imposition of localized curfews .

The Brussels authorities thus decided this Saturday to bring forward the curfew imposed in the country to 10 p.m., ordered the shops to be closed at 8 p.m. and the ban on cultural and sports activities from Monday, announced the Minister President of the region, Rudi Vervoort.

This new turn of the screw goes beyond the decisions adopted Friday by the government for the entire country and follows the measures announced by the authorities of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of the country, very affected by the pandemic.

"The situation is very serious", explained Rudi Vervoort at a press conference.

Pressure

In Esapgne, a few days after the country passed the milestone of one million Covid-19 cases, the regional authorities, which have the prerogatives in terms of public health, increased pressure on the government to grant them the right to impose increased restrictions.

In practice, this would mean that the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declares a state of alert at the national level, which would allow regions to impose curfews, as has been decided in several European countries.

So far, nine of the 17 autonomous regions in Spain have formally requested such a measure.

The government is expected to make a decision during a special meeting on Sunday.

The government can impose a state of emergency for fifteen days, but needs parliamentary approval to extend this period.

Exceptional measure

The central government is not opposed to a curfew, but considers that this exceptional regime requires, from a legal standpoint, the prior proclamation of a state of alert and requires the agreement of all regions for this. , which he does not yet have.

In the capital, the state of alert, an exceptional measure decreed two weeks ago by the central government to allow the partial closure of the capital, must end this Saturday at 4:47 p.m.

New restrictions decided by the regional authorities will then come into force.

Among these new rules, all gatherings, public and private, of people not living in the same homes will be banned between midnight and 6 a.m. in the capital.

Bars and restaurants will have to close at midnight, compared to 11 p.m. previously, and their capacity will remain fixed at 50 people.

More than 3 million people infected

For his part, the president of Castile and Leon did not wait for the central government to announce that he would impose a curfew on his citizens between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. from this weekend, while the region of Valencia and the city of Granada have indicated they will do the same.

Spain, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, on Wednesday became the sixth country to officially cross the million cases of Covid-19 and recorded nearly 35,000 deaths.

The head of government said on Friday that the "real number" of people infected with Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic "exceeds three million".

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