Madrid, October 8: The partial lockdown that came into effect in Spain's capital last week was declared unlawful by the provincial court on Thursday. The court scrapped the central government's order to continue restrictions, calling it "harmful to basic rights" of the citizens. The order has paved the way for restoration of normalcy in a city which is considered among the worst-affected n Europe. COVID-19 Shock to Global Economy 'Not as Bad as First Feared', But Crisis Far From Over: IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva.

The partial lockdown order was issued in the past week by Spain's "socialist" Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He described the COVID-19 resurgence as an unprecedented crisis, which requires an "extraordinary response". The conservative government that is ruling over Madrid had, however, protested against the decision.

The provincial government had filed a challenge in the Madrid court, claiming that the Centre was superseding the rights of local governments by "unilaterally" imposing a lockdown. The move, their petition claimed, would lead to "chaos" and further aggravate the economic crisis.

Madrid Court Rejects Partial Lockdown Order

As per the now-scrapped lockdown order issued by the Spanish government, all non-essential travel in Madrid and the nine suburbs of the capital were banned. The commuters were required to prove that they have ventured out to reach their workplace, or for medical appointments.

Shops were asked to close down at 10 pm and restaurants were asked to down the shutters by 11 pm. The operational capacity should be capped at 50 percent, as per the lockdown orders.

PM Sánchez, while announcing the lockdown order last week, pointed that that COVID-19 transmission pace is three-times faster as compared to the rest of spain. While the two-week average infection rate in the country was found to be 227 per 100,000 persons, the rate was 674 per 100,000 in Madrid.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 08, 2020 04:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).