The fourth section of the Administrative Litigation Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) has accepted the appeal presented by the SOS Hostelería association against the resolution of January 19 of the Ministry of Health that introduced the total closure of the sector “as a consequence of the worsening of the health crisis situation caused by covid-19”
The president of SOS Hostelería, Fidel Molina, has said that he is with the decision of the TSJCV and has denounced the Generalitat’s resolution saying that it is “against the law” and “seriously damaging to the interests of the sector.”
Molina said that the fact that the appeal has been admitted “gives some hope to the hoteliers” since, in his opinion, “there is a good chance that the TSJCV will end up allowing the sector to reopen, as has happened in the Basque Country “.
He added that the Minister of Health, Ana Barceló, “has still not explained the reasons that lead her to close certain types of establishments and to suspend certain activities and not others, nor why the worsening of the pandemic justifies the closure of establishments and the suspension of certain activities while keeping other non-essential activities open “.
Meanwhile Spanish newspaper Las Provincias is reporting that the hospitality sector has run out of patience and after four weeks of forced closure the Business Coordinator of Leisure and Hospitality and the Confederation of Tourism Entrepreneurs of the Community have said that almost 2,000 of their businesses have stated that they will open their doors on Tuesday 16 February despite the continued closure.
The political website elconfidencialdigital.com has gone a stage further, announcing at the weekend that the hotel industry will reopen throughout Spain next week. It states that the Government and the autonomies assume that, following the pronouncement of the Basque Justice system in favour of the reopening of bars and restaurants, because it cannot be proven that they are a focus for the virus, they will lose any subsequent appeals made in other communities, and as such they have taken the decision to concede.
