To date, Spain counts nearly 50,000 cases of COVID-19 infections and after Italy, is the country most affected by the Coronavirus in Europe so far. The impact on society and the economy is great and the Spanish government is putting measures in place to support business owners. The main response of the Spanish Government has been Royal Decree Law 8/2020 (DRL 8/2020), that includes a number of extraordinary measures to address the economic and social impact of COVID-19 and provides an appropriate response to the situations arising as a result of the current crisis. This new piece of regulation follows Royal Decree 463/2020 declaring the state of emergency and the lockdown of the country as of 14 March 2020. The sate of alarm has limited the freedom of movement of people, establishing limits to commercial activity, restaurants leisure centers, ceremonies and religious sites. Last Sunday March 22, the Spanish Prime Minister, has extended the estate of emergency until 11th of April 2020, and may be extended for a longer time in the future. The adopted measures are geared not only to combat the illness, but to strengthen protection for workers, families and vulnerable groups, while supporting the continuity of productive activity and the maintenance of jobs. All these measures will remain in force during the time the emergency status is in effect. The measures adopted can be divided in three main categories: employment and social security measures; tax measures; economic measures.
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