A judge in the Spanish region of Catalonia has turned against a very strict lockdown in and around the city of Lérida.
The regional government quarantined the region a week ago in an attempt to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Now the government also wanted to oblige the residents of Lérida and seven surrounding municipalities to stay at home until further notice, but the magistrate Elena García-Muñoz believes that the regional government cannot simply take such very drastic measures.
According to her, a state of emergency should be declared for this, and the central government in Madrid should do that, Spanish media reported.
The judge also thinks that the authorities do not clarify why these draconian measures are needed there.
Places have been identified where there appears to be a new outbreak. Still, according to García-Muñoz, the regional government does not indicate why they are so dangerous now and does not explain why a total lockdown should apply in those eight municipalities.
Part of Catalonia west of Barcelona is experiencing an increase in new infections. The region identified 816 new cases of the virus in 24 hours, and one patient died in that 24-hour period.
