THE midnight curfew in the Valencian Community will be pushed back to a 1.00 am start from this Monday(May 24), subject to approval by the regional Supreme Court.

Valencian president, Ximo Puig, has submitted a request for the new curfew time which would run for a fortnight.

He said that he ‘expected’ all night-time restrictions on movement would end after two weeks, but that the health situation would be monitored closely.

Bars and restaurants are expected to get an extra hour of trading with a new closing time of 12.30 am.

Nightlife businesses will continue operating on the same basis as the rest of the hospitality sector.

Curfews with varying start times have been used in the area since late October.

A fortnight ago, the regional government asked the Supreme Court to allow a midnight curfew when cases in the Valencian Community were the lowest in Spain at 40 cases per 100,000 people.

That ratio is now below 30, and in Alicante Province it is under 25, which makes it the only part of Spain that has reached the national government benchmark of being in the ‘new normal’.

The Valencia region along with the Balearic Islands are the only Spanish regions to maintain legally-backed curfews, yet they easily have the lowest COVID numbers in the country.

Ximo Puig has sounded a further note of caution as he waits to see what impact on infections last week’s influx of visitors to the coast may have had.

“I do not rule out a rebound in cases after the regional border closure was lifted on May 9, “ he said.

“We must continue to track infections and speed up vaccinations. We can really overcome the pandemic and overcome it quickly”.

The Supreme Court ruling is expected today(May 20) or tomorrow, with the Valencian government perhaps leaving it as late as Saturday to announce the exact details of its latest restriction package.

READ MORE LATEST COVID-19 FIGURES FROM THE COSTA BLANCA AND VALENCIA AREAS

JUDGES WILL GET ANOTHER CURFEW APPLICATION FOR THE COSTA BLANCA

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