The Madrid Administrative Court overturned the decision of the local authorities, according to which citizens were prohibited from smoking in public places due to the spread of the coronavirus. The portal 20minutos writes about it.
As reported, it was a question of a ban on smoking on open verandas of restaurants in the event that there is no safe distance between people. In addition to these restrictions, there were restrictions on the ability to eat in the metro, as well as the opening hours of bars (until 1 am) and the closure of nightlife.
The judge ruled that the restriction could not be considered legal, since it was introduced on the basis of an order from the Ministry of Health, which was not officially published. The verdict states that the autonomous community can restrict human rights only when an emergency is declared. In addition, in this case, the ban on smoking on the streets was announced orally, and smoking is not one of the basic rights.
The Madrid authorities decided to ban smoking in the absence of a safe distance between people on August 14.
In Spain, almost 378 thousand people have been infected since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. The authorities imposed a strict quarantine, which was later lifted. However, recently, due to the increase in the number of cases of the disease in various regions, restrictive measures are being introduced again.
