(Madrid) The Spanish judiciary has authorized, on Thursday, the imposition of a night curfew in a large part of the Catalonia region (northeast), while Spain is again obligated to wear a mask outside in front of the explosion of COVID-19 cases.
The High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has announced that it is authorizing “required actions” by the Catalan executive, which also includes closing nightclubs and limiting private meetings to a maximum of 10 people.
Thus, the Catalan executive will be able to impose a curfew from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. in all cities of more than 10,000 inhabitants where the infection rate exceeds 250 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over a period of seven days, that is, all those who are currently here.
A few days before the holiday, the occupancy scale is now limited to 50% for restaurants and 70% for sports and cultural venues, as well as small businesses in this region of about 7.7 million people.
These restrictions will apply from Thursday night to Friday for an initial period of 15 days in one of the most populous and touristic areas in Spain.
In Catalonia, patients with COVID-19 occupy 30% of intensive care units, the highest rate in the country and double the national average, according to figures released by the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.
get out masked
These restrictions are taking effect in Catalonia as the central government decreed that the mask be worn outdoors again across the country, which on Wednesday set a new record of 60,041 cases within 24 hours.
The measure, which will take effect on Friday and is “temporarily” wanted by the executive, will not pertain to sports or people walking alone — or surrounded by people from their homes — “in a natural space” such as “in the mountains. the beach,” Health Secretary Carolina Carolina offered Daria, Thursday, during a press conference.
A rare measure in the world, the return of wearing the mask in the open air was decided at the end of an extraordinary meeting between the government of the Socialist Pedro Sanchez and the regions responsible for health.
Carolina Daria argued that the “scientist-approved” decision was made by “almost unanimous” from the regions.
The current situation in Madrid
For her part, the president of the conservative Madrid region, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, said Thursday that she is not considering further restrictions.
Actions doubled in Spain, a world champion in vaccination, but – like many other countries – it faced a new wave of cases thanks to the spread of the Omicron variant, which is much more contagious.
“The Omicron variant is in the process of replacing the Delta variant,” the health minister said.
Some Spanish regions have implemented a health passport to enter public places, while others, such as Madrid, refuse to do so.
The infection rate was 784 cases per 100,000 residents in 14 days on Wednesday evening, four times higher than it was in 1is being December.
This new wave – 6e In Spain – however, it remains less dangerous than previous units, with COVID-19 patients occupying 15.7% of intensive care units, compared to 30% in mid-January 2021, according to the Ministry of Health.