MADRID (AP) – Faced with the growing number of new coronavirus infections among unvaccinated youth, some regions of Spain are re-implementing nightlife restrictions just weeks after removing them.
Due to the fear that the increase in infections could overload medical services and while many stressed people want to go on summer vacations, health authorities in various parts of the country are also accelerating the application of the vaccine against COVID-19 to people under 30 years of age.
The strict deployment of vaccination in Spain has so far focused on the older and most vulnerable groups, leaving adolescents and twentysomethings for this summer.
So far, 40% of the 47 million Spaniards have been fully vaccinated, one of the highest levels in Europe, but the proportion is reduced to one in 10 vaccinated in the age group 20 to 29 years and a scarce 0.7% for young people up to 20 years of age.
“Of course, I would like to thank the young people for all this extra effort they are making compared to the rest of the population, because their vaccination dates have not started until now,” said Fernando Simón, who coordinates the response of the country to health emergencies.
Simon said Monday that there is a risk that infections among young people will spread to vulnerable groups of older people, especially those waiting for the second dose or those who do not have one.
“We are in a complicated situation in terms of transmission, and we hope that this is not transmitted with respect to severity in hospitals,” he said.
On Monday, the 14-day infection rate between ages 20-29 was nearly three times the national average of 153 new cases per 100,000 residents.
Simón added that the delta variant to which the increase in infections in other countries such as Portugal and Great Britain has been attributed, is not yet the main factor in the new confirmed cases in Spain.
Infections among teens have also increased as a result of trips and parties to celebrate the end of the school year. Thousands of people had to isolate themselves after more than 1,000 infections were linked to student trips to the islands of Mallorca. At least 700 others have tested positive in mass tests in Navarra, in the north, among students who went to a spa last month.
Navarra authorities are registering more than 500 new infections per day, a level not reached since the second resurgence of the virus in the country in October. In response, they announced that bars and nightclubs will close again at 1 a.m. instead of 3 a.m.
Nightlife will be completely closed in at least 16 towns in the northern region of Cantabria, which leads the country’s infection rates.
In Catalonia, in the northeast of the country, the authorities have invited to be vaccinated from the age of 16, after the number of infections increased seven times in the last two weeks, reaching more than 3,000 new confirmed cases in recent days.
So far, the uptick in cases has led to comparatively lower hospital admissions than previous increases because COVID-19 causes fewer complications among young people, but health care centers and contagion contact trackers struggle to cope with the overload of cases.
A federation of nightlife business owners issued a statement saying the sector is being used as a “scapegoat” for the new surge in infections and urged authorities to crack down on illegal alcohol parties.
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