Courts greenlight new lockdown measures, with some exceptions

Courts have greenlighted most of the government's Covid-curbing measures in Segrià county and L'Hopsitalet de Llobregat, Catalonia's second-largest city.

Enhanced lockdown in Segrià county

In the case of Segrià county, restrictions have been approved in 7 of the 8 municipalities the Catalan government had requested, including the city of Lleida, but excluding the town of Massalcoreig. Travel to and from these municipalities will be restricted from 4 pm on Wednesday, according to the Catalan government resolution on the matter. 

According to the judge, the measures are both "necessary," as the ones put in place prior to that have failed to keep the virus at bay, and "proportionate" except for in the town of Massalcoreig, which has only seen one new coronavirus case since July 1.

These enhanced restrictions will be in place for 15 days, while the government will be required to provide weekly updates on the state of the pandemic in the area.

Measures in Catalonia's second city

Measures put in place in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat's three hardest-hit neighborhoods, Collblanc, La Florida and La Torrassa, have also been approved, although a judge has rejected banning gatherings of over 10 people for purportedly infringing upon "a fundamental right" enshrined in the Spanish Constitution.

This means that weddings, religious services, celebrations, and funerals will still be allowed to take place. 

Catalan president Quim Torra announced on Wednesday that he would be appealing this ruling "in the coming hours" and asked L'Hospitalet residents to follow the government's health and safety recommendations. 

Torra also described the measures put forth by his government as "absolutely necessary to curb infections" and reaffirmed that their "top priority" is to protect people's lives.