Alex Trelinski
JUDGES at the Valencia Superior Court (TSJ) have thrown out a bid to reverse the closure of bars and restaurants in the Valencian Community.
The case was brought by the Castellon Hospitality Association(Ashocas) but the court ruled against them yesterday(February 19).
The ruling said that the shutdown of hospitality since late January was ‘an effective measure to combat the community transmission of the coronavirus’ and that agreeing with the Ashocas position would ‘seriously be against the public interest’.
The judges added that the enforced closure helped to reduce the concentration of ‘virus-carrying particles in the air thereby cutting down on the number of people that can be exposed at any time’.
Their verdict followed a first setback to the Ashocas legal action on Tuesday, when, as expected, the TSJ rejected an emergency application for an immediate reopening of hospitality in the region.
The court then proceeded to get evidence from the Valencian government to make their final judgement, which came yesterday.
The TSJ did make it clear that their ruling only applies to the ‘current’ pandemic situation in the region, and that circumstances might change in the future.
The whole issue appears to be largely moot, as some kind of hospitality reopening is expected when the current series of restrictions ends on March 2.
Hospitality associations met with the regional health minister, Ana Barcelo, this week to talk through likely scenarios.
Assuming that infection rates continue their downward spiral, it is anticipated the some form of daytime terrace reopening will be allowed from March 2 as part of a phased reduction in measures.
A final decision is expected on February 25
