Junta de Andalusia President rules out new covid restrictions on nightlife

The Junta de Andalusía announced that they do not plan to adopt any new coronavirus restrictions in the region “for now” although Junta president Juanma Moreno says “nothing is ruled out”.

Moreno announced plans to hold off on reinstating restrictions during the opening of new facilities at the Punta Europa hospital in Algeciras on Monday (July 12).

The Andalusian president said that there has been little to no progress made on plans to ease current protective measures in the region as appropriate parameters have not yet been met.

“There are sectors, such as hospitality, that ask for more freedom but, unfortunately, the requirements have not been met,” Moreno said, emphasizing the “prudence” that has characterized the Andalusian government’s approach to coronavirus decision making throughout the pandemic.

“We will take the measures that have to be taken depending on the coronavirus incident rate,” he added.

Moreno reported that the local government will continue to enforce the perimeter closure of Andalusian towns that exceed an incident rate of 1,000 infections per 100,000 inhabitants. The president has also suggested that other variables such as healthcare pressure and occupied intensive care beds will be taken into consideration when requesting future border closures.

In reference to Andalusian nightlife, Moreno has advocated for a “regulated organized” approach that will combine individual checks of identification documentation and increased police monitoring.

“You can’t lock up young people unless you have a curfew,” Moreno said. “If they don’t go to a regulated environment, they will go a park or a beach. We believe that attending an organized event is more effective than closing nightlife. For now, we do not envisage that , although we do not rule out anything,” he added.