Boundary closures in major towns and cities for the fourth weekend in a row in the Comunidad Valenciana

Travel restrictions are once again in place from 3 pm on Friday until 6 am on Monday

For the fourth consecutive weekend the perimetral closure designed to bring down coronavirus infection rates in the Comunidad Valenciana affects 16 cities and large towns this weekend, with the measure in place in all municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants from 3 pm on Friday until 6 am on Monday. This anti-covid measure impacts around 2.3 million citizens (46% of the regional population), who will not be able to leave their city without a justified cause.

The boundary closures affect nine cities in the province of Alicante (Alicante, Alcoy, Benidorm, Elche, Elda, Orihuela, Petrer, San Vicent del Raspeig and Torrevieja), five in the province of Valencia (Valencia, Torrent, Gandia and Paterna) and two in the province of Castellón (Castellón and Vila-real).

It has already been confirmed that the measure will be in place next weekend as well, as the regional government is keeping all the current restrictions in place until at least 1st March, including the closure of the hospitality sector and sports centres, the 10 pm curfew and the 6 pm closing time for all non-essential businesses.

There is some resistance to this cautious policy, but it has to be said that it appears to be working, with 14-day infection rates down to 344 per 100,000 inhabitants, approximately a quarter of the peak reached in late January.

This weekend the regional Fuerzas y Cuerpos de Seguridad del Estado will once again be manning roadblocks across the 16 municipalities affected, making sure that only people with a valid reason, such as education, work or health purposes, are entering and leaving the municipalities concerned.