The streets of Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Valencia look deserted after the entry into force of night restrictions due to the state of alarm
It is practically the same story told a second time Spain seems to have regressed seven months Cities across the country were once again deserted this morning after the curfew imposed by the Government to try to control the pandemic
It is true that it is only at night but the feeling in the environment was that of the month of March when the spread of the virus began with people locked at home and shops with the blinds down
The Madrilenians closed themselves up almost completely Sergio Sánchez a 27yearold taxi driver suffered the consequences He always works nights and did not change his routine despite the circumstances
He had been walking around the city for three hours without picking up any customers I have zero races he said Im about to go home
The night confinement is one of the main measures that has led to the state of alarm decreed this Sunday by the Government It is mandatory in all of Spain except the Canary Islands for the next 15 days between 1100 pm and 600 am although the autonomies can shorten or extend that period by one hour
Some like Catalonia have already announced that they advance it to 10 Others like Madrid that they will delay it at 000
The Gran Vía like the Rambla in Barcelona was once again silent Only street sweepers with hoses that fired jets to thoroughly clean the sidewalks crossed it and from time to time a delivery man pedaling Gianfranco a Venezuelan asked a while before some officers if he could ride his bicycle from here to there It seemed to him that the presidents announcement was serious and that the measures to tackle COVID19 were going to be hardened
They told him there was no problem His job was active he was not affected by the curfew tonight he completed 19 deliveries When it rains the orders skyrocket In a couple of hours when all was calm he would take the bus home to Galapagar 30 kilometers away
At a bus stop in the middle of nowhere like an apparition Angelica Paulo 32 was waiting surrounded by bags Distribute dumplings to downtown restaurants His routine marks that he ends these deliveries at 0000 He does not have any document proving the distribution of empanadas but he has prepared an answer in case the police ask him
I know there are many things forbidden now but are they going to forbid me to go home Has no sense
Gianfranco on Fuencarral street in Madrid during the first night of the curfew between 0000 and 600 in the morning
Gianfranco on Fuencarral street in Madrid during the first night of the curfew between 0000 and 600 in the morning
LUIS DE VEGA HERNANDEZ
In Barcelona the picture was very similar The human landscape was a déjà vu of those weeks in March and April with which the nightmare of the coronavirus began
If at noon on Sunday Pedro Sánchez had announced the state of alarm hours later the Generalitat decreed that the curfew began at 10 pm throughout Catalonia
When the clock struck the time that the new nighttime restriction began the streets of the Catalan capital have once again become a site Just like in spring Only police taxi drivers empty buses and beggars were visible on any of the citys main arteries
The streets that had already been mortally wounded on October 16 after the Generalitat forced bars and restaurants to close have begun to agonize this morning
Where are you going Was the question that the few drivers who circulated along Avenida del Paral·lel encountered Mossos dEsquadra agents strategically placed several police checkpoints to warn that the situation has changed tonight
In this control of Paral·lel the Broadway Barcelonés where today most of the theaters have already finished their performances the agents tonight forgave the penalty From now on driving at night can result in a fine of 300 to 6000 euros
At the corner of Paral·lel and Nou de la Rambla street a camel was hiding but already desperately he was offering drugs to anyone who walked down the street and did not look like a policeman
Next to him an illegal street vendor was trying to sell sandwiches and samosa dumplings Neither of them would be successful There was absolutely no one walking around These days boys came to drink at the park but not today lamented the seller with a box full of sandwiches
In one of the streets that goes into the Raval eight young exward were looking for a place to spend the night outdoors The homeless became much more visible and infinitely more vulnerable
The Barcelona Urban Guard knows where the concentrations of people take place One of those places is the Plaza de los Àngels right in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona There half a dozen young people drank while many others did pirouettes with their scooters You cannot be here leave the agents warned Later to prevent them from skating the cleaning service watered the square
La Rambla is the busiest place in the city by day and the most rogue at night Not a soul was seen Nor in the fishing district of Barceloneta The first curfew in Barcelona has become a copy of the most disturbing and silent spring that the city suffered
Seville experienced an almost identical curfew although more early riser All the bars were closed from ten oclock at night after the first day that this restriction was imposed in the city of Seville the only workers still inside them finish the cleanup before going home In the historic center of the Andalusian capital the silence was almost complete only interrupted by the rain and the noise of some house
Only a few fast food outlets remained open but only for home delivery Three delivery men shared the last slice of pizza waiting to receive the last order With the curfew we are going to have more work says Maria while looking at the next destination on her navigator on her phone
After midnight the rain had already stopped Two other workers were returning home on electric scooters with masks while leaving behind the noise of the few cars that passed through the city
Valencia had been 24 hours ahead The Generalitat decreed time and mobility restrictions that began at 1 in the morning and ended at 6 in the morning on Sunday
Normality was the predominant note throughout the night according to police and political sources There were no incidents of special relevance The establishments closed at the same time that they were doing previously and people withdrew home
The National Police attached to the Generalitat proposed a total of 224 sanctions for violating the anticovid regulations although less than half were for breaking the curfew The Local Police of Valencia established controls in different locations and seven minutes were drawn up of 18 vehicles controlled for not justifying their movement during restricted hours
