Spanish Parliament gives its support to the six months of state of alarm

USPA NEWS - The Plenary of Congress authorized this Thursday the extension of the state of alarm, requested by the Government of Spain, for a period of six months, until 00:00 on May 9, 2021, to contain the spread of infections caused by SARS-CoV-2. The authorization for the extension of the state of alarm, decreed on the 25th, went ahead with 194 votes in favor, 53 against and 99 abstentions.

The request, agreed by the Council of Ministers on October 27, establishes that the extension of the state of alarm will extend from 00:00 on November 9, 2020 to 00:00 on May 9, 2021. It also establishes that the conditions of this extension are those contained in Royal Decree 926/2020, of October 25, although with modifications in articles 9 and 10, and of the Decrees that, where appropriate, are adopted in use of the authorization conferred by the final provision first of the aforementioned Royal Decree.

In addition, with the modifications of the conditions raised by the G.P. Republican and approved by the Plenary with 189 votes in favor, 150 against and 7 abstentions, it is established that after four months of the validity of this extension, the conference of regional presidents may formulate a proposal to the Government to lift the state of alarm, previous agreement of the inter-territorial council of the National Health System in view of the evolution of the sanitary, epidemiological, social and economic indicators.

Likewise, it is established that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will request to appear before the Plenary of Congress every two months to give an account of the data and actions of the Executive in relation to the application of the state of alarm and that the Minister of Health will do the same. own to appear before the Commission of Health and Consumption, with monthly periodicity.

During the debate, the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, pointed out that “the Government is aware that the public is beginning to be tired, but this is not the time to relax measures. We are facing weeks, months that are going to be very hard. We still have a long horizon ahead of us. There is a long winter left and the holidays will be different,“ he said at the beginning of his speech. "The current scenario is very worrying at the gates of winter and therefore, and because a good number of autonomies have requested it, the Government has decided to approve such a long state of alarm. We are fully immersed in the second wave of the pandemic," added the minister.

The "critical" abstention in the vote was of the conservative deputies of the Popular Party. Its president, Pablo Casado, accused the Government that "it likes to govern by decree and without legislative control" because "they govern badly." Later, he asked "why not surgical measures, confine the elderly, sick population, and not spoil the economy again?," and denied the "effectiveness" of this restriction of rights, defended with the data of deaths of the first wave.