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Spain to keep state of emergency until May 2021

Published:Thursday | October 29, 2020 | 12:53 PM
Health workers protest in front of the Palace of the Generalitat, the headquarter of the Government of Catalonia, during a protest against their working conditions in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020. As more of Spain's regions apply border transit restrictions, the government is seeking parliamentary approval to extend the country's newly declared state of emergency to rein in the resurging coronavirus pandemic until May, a proposal that is rejected by some opposition parties. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

MADRID — Spain’s parliament has voted to keep the country’s state of emergency in place until May 2021 to try to rein in the resurging coronavirus pandemic.

The government and parliament agreed Thursday to vote again in March on possibly ending the state of emergency.

Spain announced its second nationwide state of emergency Sunday, imposing an 11 p.m.-6 a.m. nationwide curfew, except in the Canary Islands. It allows the country’s 17 regions to set more restrictions, such as regional border closures.

Last week, Spain became the first European country to surpass 1 million officially recorded coronavirus cases. The death toll is at least 35,000. Health experts say the true figure could be three times higher because of a lack of testing and reporting.

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