Spain declares state of alarm, enabling Catalonia to impose night curfew
Madrid grants emergency powers to regional governments amid surging coronavirus numbers, and pledges to extend the measure until May
The Spanish government declared the second country-wide state of alarm of the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday afternoon, this time delegating emergency powers to regional authorities like the Catalan government for as long as next spring.
"We think we can get over it without a total lockdown, without stopping the country," said Spanish president Pedro Sánchez in a press conference while urging Spaniards to stay home.
After weeks of increasingly dire Covid-19 figures, which led to the closure of bars and restaurants, Catalonia called for another state of alarm to expand executive powers and be able to pass more restrictive measures like a night curfew while leapfrogging judicial oversight.