CATALONIA’s High Court has been branded “irresponsible” after deciding an election on February 14 should go ahead then, after the Catalan government postponed it to May 30 because of concerns over Covid-19.
The court has still to make a final ruling, which could come as late as February 7 and an appeal cannot be lodged by the Catalan government until then.
The vice-president Pere Aragones described its ruling as “irresponsible”, and added: “Many citizens will be forced to decide between their right to vote and their health.”
Most parties in the parliament last week supported postponing the poll, except the Catalan branch of Spain’s ruling Socialists – which drew criticism from their political opponents.
Marta Vilalta, from the pro-independence ERC, said: “The Catalan Socialists order, the Spanish government manoeuvres and the judiciary carries it out. All at the expense of public health.”
The spat came as Catalonia continued to prepare for a third wave of the pandemic and a rising number of cases of the “British” variation.
Health experts believe the number of infections will peak soon but pressures are mounting on hospitals and ICUs, with patient numbers continuing to grow after reaching November levels.
There are now 17 confirmed cases of what is known as “the British strain” of coronavirus in Catalonia and the public health secretary, Josep Maria Argimon, told Catalonia Radio: “This will grow.”
He admitted this worried him because if it is more transmissible it would increase pressure on ICU beds.
Head of the Catalan health service, Adria Comella, said ICU admissions could reach 1300 patients, with 900 through Covid-19.
He warned: “The third wave will have nothing to do with the second … it will resemble the first wave.”
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