Spain is Compensating Residents Who Were Fined for Violating COVID-19 Lock-Down Regulations

Spain’s Ministry of Territorial Affairs announced Friday that all citizens who paid fines during a nearly three-month state of emergency declared last year to curb the spread of the coronavirus would be reimbursed, the Associated Press reported.

The Ministry said the measure would apply to the 1.1 million fines issued to hundreds of thousands of people for violating stay-at-home orders.

The decision follows a ruling by Spain’s top court earlier this year that declared as unconstitutional the country’s first state of emergency, between March 14 and June 21.

In March 2020, Spain, one of the first countries to go into a nationwide lock-down, sent all but essential citizens to their homes and paralyzed much of the economy. According to The New York Times, the country’s lock-down was one of the strictest in the world, banning even children from going outside to play.

Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows Spain has recorded close to 5 million COVID-19 cases and at least 87,000 deaths.