Court lifts stay-at-home order for Lleida as protesters take to the streets

The Catalan government’s decision to reimpose lockdown in the city of Lleida and seven surrounding municipalities amid a surge in coronavirus infections is up in the air after a court ruled against the home confinement order on Monday.

The regional court in Lleida, in Western Catalonia, accused Catalan authorities of overstepping their authority and stated that only the Spanish government can issue a stay-at-home order by triggering the state of alarm like it did on March 14.

The Catalan government criticized the decision, called on people to comply with the home confinement order, and announced it would pass a decree establishing the legal framework for new lockdown measures.

"Other Spanish regions have adopted tougher measures, like denying Covid-positive people the right to vote in the Basque Country and Galicia," said Catalan president Quim Torra.

Vice president Pere Aragonès argued that "health reasons must prevail" over jurisdiction debates, stressing that "all sacrifices serve to protect people's health."