Spain’s Malaga police sanction 18 Costa del Sol bar owners for flouting de-escalation restrictions

Another 18 of Malaga bar and restaurants owners have been sanctioned in the last 24 hours for flouting de-escalation restrictions, according to the local police.

AT least five of them were guilty of serving clients inside the establishment – something that is not allowed until Phase 2, which starts on Monday June 1. The local police had to remind a further 328 hospitality establishments of the Phase 1 restrictions (on Thursday), which includes a two-metre distance between tables and terraces open to just to 50% of capacity. So far the police have reported 4,073 incidents, of which 61 establishments have been sanctioned to date since de-escalation began, according to Malaga Town Hall.

Additionally, 115 people were fined for not respecting de-escalation restrictions, in the last 24 hours alone. Of the 115, 61 were sanctioned for not maintaining social distances of at least 2 metres, 25 for not wearing masks, and the others for not respecting other restrictions, such as failing to comply with timetabled outings.

Around 8,980 people have been reported to the authorities in total, since the State of Alarm began back in mid-March.