Barcelona to enforce nighttime curfew to contain spike in COVID-19 cases

Justice authorized this Friday the night curfew requested by the Catalan regional government in Barcelona and several tourist places, to contain the surge in COVID-19 cases in recent days in this region of Spain.

In a car received by the press agency AFP, the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia has authorized the application of a curfew between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., until July 23, in 161 municipalities, including Barcelona and also very touristy coastal towns such as Salou, Sitges and Lloret de Mar.

These municipalities are affected by the assumptions defined by the Catalan health authorities to request the measure: a population of more than 5,000 inhabitants, with an incidence of more than 400 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days.

Since the second state of alert in Spain fell on May 9, the regions, responsible for health, they are obliged to obtain the approval of the justice to apply the night curfew.

On Wednesday, the Catalan regional president, Father Aragonès, explained to have requested this restriction given the situation of the epidemic, which he defined as “very delicate“O”extremely fragile”.

For a few days, the cumulative incidence has continued to increase in Catalonia. As of Thursday, according to the health ministry, there were 1,107 cases of coronavirus per 100,000 inhabitants in the region, a rate that far exceeds extreme risk thresholds.

The situation is even worse among young people between the ages of 20 and 29, who so far have not had as much access to the vaccine as older groups. In this group, the incidence in Catalonia is 3,375 cases per 100,000 inhabitants during the last 14 days.

Since Monday, measures have multiplied in different regions of Spain to stop the escalation of cases.

In Catalonia, the authorities have already decreed the closure of nightlife in indoor spaces, and brought forward the closing time for all leisure activities to 00:30.

In the neighboring region of Valencia, the justice authorized Monday a night curfew between 01:00 and 06:00 in the morning in 32 localities, and the limitation of meetings to ten people.

In northern Spain, Navarre will present a similar request, and Cantabria is awaiting authorization from the courts to also apply the night curfew in cities like Santander.

Although Catalonia is the region most affected by the explosion in the number of infections, the upward trend is generalized in Spain, with an average, Thursday, of 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 14 days.

The national average is five times higher than that seen three weeks ago (92), which gives an idea of ​​the spread of the virus.

The impact of this fifth wave of the pandemic in Spain is currently reflected in a limited increase in hospitalizations. The number of deaths remains low, thanks to the vaccination campaign, which covered the vast majority of the most vulnerable population.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, 60.6% of Spain’s 47 million people have the first dose of the vaccine in place and 48.4% have the full schedule.

(With information from AFP)

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