Laurence Dollimore
THERE will be more than 10,000 illegal parties in Spain on New Year’s Eve, the National Association of Nightlife has predicted.
In conjunction with Spain Nightlife, the group says it is ‘extremely’ concerned by what it says will be the consequences of the coronavirus restrictions, which include bars closing at 10:30pm and a curfew of 1:30am on NYE and Xmas Eve.
“This will lead many people to hold illegal parties and to host house parties without any security measures,” the association said.
“There is also no form of Government study, at the national or regional level, looking into the consequences of early closing hours.”
Spain Nightlife is demanding that bars and restaurants be allowed to open until 3am on NYE and that the curfew be extended until 3:30am, reported Europa Press.
The group said: “This would ensure that between 60% and 70% of customers would spend that night in legal and safe establishments and then return home.”
Any regions which have adopted strict closing hours and have not allowed nightlife venues to reopen as cafes or restaurants should ‘change their strategy as soon as possible to avoid a rise in illegal parties lacking health controls’, Spain Nightlife added.
“If you ignore this advice, we believe police and emergency services will be overwhelmed and will collapse on NYE as there will be thousands of illegal gatherings, particularly in places difficult to access such as private villas.”
It comes as the national Government will grant regional leaders the power to toughen coronavirus restrictions following a rise in infection rates today.
According to Ministry of Health sources, autonomous communities will be able to edit measures relating to four main areas; travelling, family meetups, curfews and events.
Health Minister Salvador Illa will tell regional leaders this afternoon that they will have the power to close their outer borders, meaning no one can enter from another region, including from December 23 to January 6.
They will also be able to restrict meetings of friends and families on key Christmas dates, with the limit currently extended to 10 on December 24, 25, 31 and January 1 and 6.
The curfew will also be up for modification, particularly on Xmas eve and New Year’s Eve, when it has been extended to 1:30am.
Lastly, they will be permitted to limit the concentration of people in public spaces i.e. large scale events such as the King’s Parade.
Any decisions taken will be immediate and unchallenged, covered by the legal umbrella of the state of alarm declared on October 25, granting governments extra power.
