Second Spanish city, very popular with international tourists, Barcelona has been facing a surge of Covid-19 cases for a few days. In order to curb the resumption of the epidemic, the inhabitants of Barcelona and a certain number of cities in its suburbs, that is to say nearly 4 million people, “must stay at home as soon as it is not essential for them to leave “Catalan regional government spokesperson Meritxell Budo said to the press. She also asked them not to go to their second homes this weekend.
Cinemas and discos closed
The regional government has also announced the closure of cinemas, theaters or nightclubs, banning meetings of more than ten people and visits to retirement homes or limiting the capacity to 50% in the bars and restaurants. Non-essential businesses must receive their customers by appointment. These measures should last a priori two weeks.
“We have to go back so that we do not have to come back to total containment of the population in the coming weeks,” insisted Meritxell Budo. We must “act quickly and with determination to avoid that we find ourselves in the same situation as in March,” she said.
Catalonia and neighboring Aragon, where cases have also increased significantly, are the two regions which are of greatest concern to the Spanish authorities, who are monitoring a total of more than 150 outbreaks of contagion in the country.
Other reconfigurations in Catalonia
In Catalonia, 160,000 people in the city of Lleida and neighboring municipalities have been reconfigured Wednesday after a showdown between the regional government and the justice system. The call not to leave has been extended to other municipalities in the same area, which now brings the total of those affected to around 250,000 in the province of Lleida.
Faced with this rebound in contagions, many Spanish regions, including Catalonia, have decided to reinforce the mandatory nature of the mask which must be worn at all times on public roads and in enclosed spaces even when the safety distance is respected.
Spain, which officially deplores more than 28,400 dead from the pandemic, is one of the most affected countries in Europe.
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