The judges have ruled in favour of the Catalan government and have decided to keep Catalonia's nightlife sector closed as a measure to contain Covid-19 infections.
Last Friday, the High Court of Catalonia gave the government 48 hours to present arguments justifying the continued closure after receiving an appeal from the nightlife sector, and it set the very tight deadline to the authorities as part of its grounds for refusing the club owners' demand for an urgent decision that would have allowed venues to reopen before they even heard the government's case.
Earlier, on Monday, August 23rd, Fecasarm, the nightlife sector business association, had filed its appeal against the continuation of the restrictions on restaurants and nightlife to curb the fifth wave of the pandemic, which it considered "disproportionate and arbitrary." At the same time, it proposed new opening hours. The association believed that the fact that the court had already rejected the Catalan government's curfew made its appeal "even stronger", and applauded the decision to suspend the night-time curfew.
This morning, the High Court also made public its ruling on social restrictions such as those affecting venue capacities and the number of people allowed in family gatherings or restaurants. The short version of their ruling: everything remains as it was.
The court refers to the "right to life" and the "right to health protection," which have been violated with the arrival of the pandemic. That is why it considers that the seriousness of the situation, and the number of cases and hospital admissions currently seen, "justify, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the adoption of public health measures that are necessary to control and prevent the increase in infections and hospital admissions in order to protect the population."
Protest camp in Plaça Sant Jaume
Nightlife sector business owners organized a protest camp this Wednesday in Barcelona's administrative square, Plaça Sant Jaume, to demand a calendar for their reopening. The sector wants to reopen with occupancy of at least 50% of the maximum capacity of spaces, as well as its normal hours and with permission for normal dancing in nightclubs.
The general secretary of the night clubs' association, Ramon Mas, called on the the government to "let the nightlife operators go to work and give them 'tools' to do it well. One of these would be a Covid certificate which certifies that people have either recovered from Covid or are fully vaccinated, or else, have tested negative for coronavirus prior to entering the premises. The aim is to minimize the risk of infection and thus ensure a "controlled" reopening of the sector.
Some of those taking part in the protest camp are also going to begin a hunger strike in protest at the closure of nightclubs. The sector has demanded “planning” and a “solution” after a year and a half without any income. In fact, the sector's revenues in Catalonia this year represent only 3% of its 2019 turnover in the same period.
Interior ministry celebrates the decision
The Catalan government has celebrated that the court accepted its arguments regarding the opening of nightlife in the near future, underlining that "caution and prudence" are still needed, because there are still a significant number of people admitted to intensive care units. Health secretary general Meritxell Masó admitted that they are aware of the "discomfort" of the nightlife sector and that they will work to facilitate its reopening "as soon as possible". Meanwhile, interior ministry secretary general Oriol Amorós, speaking with an eye to major upcoming festivals, such as those of La Mercè in Barcelona, warned that it is key to "avoid crowds". “They have to be held and celebrated, but under the right conditions,” he stressed.
The latest data
In the last 24 hours, 33 deaths from Covid have been recorded in Catalonia, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 23,443, of which 15,004 occurred in hospitals or health centers, 4,643 in care homes, 1,228 at home and 2,568 not classified due to lack of information.
Catalonia has registered 965,268 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the first cases in early 2020 (894,975 of these with PCR or antigen test). Thursday's count added 1,197 new cases in the last 24 hours, reports the Catalan ministry of health through its website.
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Main photo: Luz de Gas nightclub, empty / Laia Hinojosa