"I have lost everything: I had old photos and mementoes of my parents and family, clothes, two very large aquariums, also a miniature train line I was assembling with 40 engines... My whole life has gone up in flames". This is the hard and overwhelming summary made bu Jordi, a 66-year-old resident of the River Park housing estate in Pont de Vilomara, who only a month ago saw it all disappear due to the Pont de Vilomara fire that burnt down over 1,700 hectares of land and around sixty houses, including his own.

Two sunbeds and a parasol for €25 for the morning or afternoon, or €50 for the whole day; plus a supplement of between €3 and €5 if you are in the front row, or €20 if you want a towel. These are the prices offered at the Aiguablava cove in Begur for those who want to enjoy one of the forty sunloungers on the sand. The City Council put out a public tender in early 2021 to hand over the management of this service until 2024, but the area they occupy on the sand has attracted complaints from bathers. "Every day it's the same: you couldn't squeeze anyone else on the sand because the sunbeds take up most of the available space. They have privatised part of the beach!" Sandra and Manel, a couple from Manresa who have a second home in Begur, complain. On the other hand, the City Council makes a "very positive" assessment of the service: "It is a cove with high demand and under severe tourist pressure, and this is a way to control access and avoid crowds", Tourism councillor Eugeni Pibernat emphasises.

October is the new date set by the Girona-based company Hipra to obtain authorisation for its vaccine against covid-19. The company's R&D director, Èlia Torroella, had said that they expected to receive the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) approval between June and July, but they have now been asked for more data. "The situation has been changing and different requirements have been made at different times, and in our case they have asked us to provide more information. We know what they want, we will provide it, and we are convinced that the vaccine will be part of vaccination plans in the autumn," Torroella emphasised, in reference to the Ministry of Health's plans to start administering the fourth dose to the over 60 and to healthcare personnel after the summer.

Girona's Appeal Court has rejected the public prosecutor's appeal in the case of the 49 Tsunami Democràtic activists accused of cutting off AP-7 motorway in Salt in November 2019, who have been cleared of charges. However, three more people are still being investigated over the protest that cut traffic on the motorway and ended with riots in Salt, as part of the protests against the sentencing of the leaders of the Catalan Independence bid.

Despite starring in many legends and folk tales, in the first third of the 20th century wolves disappeared from Catalan forests and mountains. Yet in the year 2000 it managed a comeback in the Pyrenees, after a very long journey from Italy, through the Alps and across France. Within the framework of the European project LoupO, the Catalan nature rangers are tasked with monitoring on the field and currently have detected four males living in Catalonia. Two of them were located some time ago –one in Ripollès and one in Port del Comte–, but there are two more that have been confirmed recently: one has settled in the region of Moianès and the other in Alta Ribagorça. The wolf monitoring coordinator, Gabriel Lampreave, emphasises that it is an animal that is very afraid of humans and, therefore, "there is no danger to people". However, with its return, the nightmares for shepherds and their herds, who are wolves' main victims, have also returned. "The administration compensates you for any animals lost, but this does not compensate you for all the losses you have suffered," laments a livestock farmer from Odèn (Solsonès), Florenci Serra, who after losing 150 animals had to switch from sheep to cattle to prevent the farm from going under.

The Girona-based pharmaceutical company Hipra can now start the third phase trials of its vaccine against covid-19. After reviewing the results of Phase 2b, the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) has approved a step forward in its research. In this third stage, the new serum will be tested on 3,000 volunteers over 16 years of age, with the collaboration of some twenty hospitals in Spain, Portugal and Italy. The aim is to test whether the new drug is safe and effective as a booster dose in people who have received other vaccines, and they will be followed up medically for 52 weeks. Once it is finished, and if it receives the endorsement of the health authorities, the company will be able to market it.

Pharmaceutical company Hipra, based in Girona, has developed a vaccines which offers "good results and resistance" against the Omicron variant –the dominant variant in Catalonia– according to the Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, during a visit to the company in Amer (Selva). The company has been working for months on a new vaccine and expects to start its third phase of clinical trials midway through this month, if it receives the endorsement of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS). At this stage it would be tested on 3,000 volunteers, with the collaboration of 15 hospitals in Spain and "other countries," according to Morant.

Rampant incidence caused by the increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant, responsible for most of the new coronavirus infections in Catalonia. The number of weekly cases has almost doubled in the last seven days (from 39,578 to 78,586) and, therefore, has taken much momentum growth 15 days ago, when there were four times fewer weekly infections (22,717). In fact, in seven days, it has come to infect almost 1% of the population, a record never achieved so far in the whole pandemic, according to the researcher of the Biocomcs group of the UPC Enric Álvarez. "And it will surely rise more, between 100,000 or 150,000 cases per week, that is, between 1 and 1.5% of the population will be infected in a week," predicts the expert. This Tuesday the number of cases registered passed 24,000 for the first time since the pandemic broke out, although it is not yet known whether they correspond to a single day or have been caused by a backlog in inserting the data.

A petrol station, a garage, a bazaar, a carpentry shop and one of the biggest brothels in Europe. This is what Mas Morató industrial estate in La Jonquera has to offer. It is where Club Paradise is located, known because it can accommodate more than a hundred prostitutes. It is five o'clock in the afternoon, opening time, and there is already a group of six men waiting to enter. "But how can you do this to me? I have a wife!" one of the clients replies to the question of whether he wants to give an interview. The Generalitat considers brothels "public establishments with private annexes" and, throughout the pandemic, the same measures have been applied to them as to nightclubs. This means that, in 2021, they were only allowed to open for two weeks in July, until on October 8 most restrictions were lifted. The only condition is that all customers must present a covid certificate or a negative PCR test result, as in nightclubs. On the first weekend, many customers did not have a test and had to go to a shopping centre next door to get one. To avoid losing customers, this weekend the club hired medical staff who offer tests just outside the brothel. Five security staff check documents, bags and put the men through a metal detector. "We've had a great time, there are some very beautiful women!" two regulars from Toulouse exclaim. They come out squirming and with reddish cheeks. They have paid €17 to get in – with a free drink – and about €60 for the sex service.

A total of 69,129 vaccine doses against covid-19 have expired in Catalonia, according to the Secretary of Public Health, Carmen Cabezas, who has attributed it to a miscalculation: they believed the rate of vaccination would increase in Setember after it fell in August, which has not happened. "The predictive models showed that in September the number of people who wanted to get vaccinated would recover, but it has been lower than expected. In addition, at vaccination points with no prior appointment we had to make sure there were vaccines available for everyone who wanted one, and this has meant some centres asked for more doses than they were able to administer in the end," she explained.

Some 90-year-olds are more active than other 30-year-olds. But there are also others who, at 80, can hardly perform any activities without the support of someone else. Therefore, what are the keys to ageing in a healthy and enviable way? This is answered by the psychologist and researcher of the Envelliment, Cultura i Salut Research Group (Ageing, Culture and Health) (UdG) Pilar Monreal; the Catalan Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology geriatrician and vice-president, Jordi Amblàs; and the nurse and director of the Les Vetes nursing home in Salt, Àngels Teixidor.

The WHO this week called for no third dose - or booster or reminder dose - until at least 10 per cent of the world's population is vaccinated. Even so, countries such as Israel have already started injecting it into immunocompromised patients and people over 60, and France and Germany announced Thursday that they will also give it to the elderly and the most vulnerable. Spain is also considering this option: the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, said that "everything indicates that the third dose will have to be administered" - although she did not specify whether to certain groups or to the general population - and the Secretary of Public Health of the Generalitat, Carmen Cabezas, said that they are studying giving a third injection to immunocompromised patients, such as transplant recipients or people undergoing cancer treatment, for example. But is a third dose really necessary to have immunity against covid?

The evolution of the virus in Catalonia begins to show some positive notes. The main one: the incidence is decreasing in all age groups. A fortnight ago it began to reduce the one that had risen the most, the 15-29 age group, but not the one that was most worrying, the over-70s, who have the worst prognosis. However, the latest data show that it is also beginning to fall. "It is good news, we have very clear indicators that they probably are going down, more slowly than young people, but they are going down", celebrates Biocomsc researcher Enric Álvarez, who also highlights another fact: in CAPs (primary healthcare centres) there is no increase in consultations of people over 70 years old and even in those over 80 there is a decrease.

The explosion in infections detected in recent weeks has not only been noted in health centres and hospitals; private centres offering antigen and PCR tests have seen demand increase exponentially. "There has been a very significant increase, between 30% and 40% more", commercial director of Teletest, Francesc Mestres, states. Dr Àngels Fortuño, manager at Eldine laboratory, corroborates it: "Every day we have people at our door, in a hurry, asking us to do a test. Whereas before private individuals represented 20% of the tests we do, they are now between 40% and 45%"

New day of fighting against the fire that broke out yesterday between Llançà and Port de la Selva. After a very complicated night with a fire that has not given truce, firefighters continue working to extinguish the flames that have already burned between 400 and 500 hectares, as indicated by the head of the emergency region of Girona, Jordi Martin. With the light of day, planes and helicopters have returned to the scene. They are key to extinguishing the flames, as the whole area is difficult to access by land. Martin stressed that the goal of the day is not to reach the thousand hectares burned, although they will not have the best conditions: "Today there will be wind, high temperatures and low humidity".

"For the locals it's great, but for businesses it's a load of rubbish. We are a tourist town, whether we like it or not, and if we don't let people come... I don't know what they will live on!" This is how Cisco, a resident of Cadaqués, sums up the new restrictions on access to Cap de Creus by car or motorbike. Since 11 June, you can only enter on foot, by bike or with the shuttle bus, about which there have already been many complaints about the service: the timetables are not clear and it costs 8 euros per adult. The town council admits that there are aspects that need to be improved, such as signposting, but they believe that the measure is essential to preserve the natural park and avoid images like those of last year, with peaks of 1,500 cars parked in every corner of the area.

The pardons of the Spanish government have become effective and the political prisoners are now free. The nine pro-independence leaders imprisoned since the end of 2017 will sleep at home tonight and will not have to return to prison. As they left jail, a crowd gathered to receive them, including members of the Catalan Government such as the President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, who was in Lledoners penitentiary. The released prisoners demanded amnesty for other victims of reprisals and assured that they will not change their pro-independence convictions or their political commitment to achieve the Catalan Republic. In short, that they will not do so despite the fact that it is the Spanish government that has promoted the measure of grace that has allowed them to leave prison before serving their entire sentence. "Repression has not defeated us," proclaimed the president of Òmnium Cultural, Jordi Cuixart.

Christopher and Noël live in France but spent this Sunday morning in a shopping centre in La Jonquera buying tobacco, alcoholic drinks and some food. Since March 30 it is mandatory to show a negative PCR to cross the border. Only cross-border workers, hauliers and residents of towns within 30 km of the border were exempt. However, in practice, the truth is that French and Spanish residents can cross over without being checked. "We have been coming here for two weeks. They told us that you can cross even if you don't have a PCR [test result], because nobody checks it", explain the two friends.

The fishing sector is sending out a distress signal. The new European law which imposes a 40% reduction in trawl catches by 2025 has set Catalan and Valencian fleets on the warpath. Fishermen warn that the regulation endangers the continuity of one in two boats, according to calculations by the president of the Catalan federation of guilds, Antoni Abad. "We cannot keep boats that can only go out 120, 150 or 180 days a year, depending on the type of boat. We must to be allowed to work and we must all be allowed to do so equally", claims the fisherman, who also warns that if their demands are not met they will have to organise "more protest actions" because the entire fishing sector "is in danger".

Deaths from coronavirus in Catalonia have fallen by 89% in five months, according to data from the Department of Health: while in January 2,159 people died with covid, in May it was 231 (with consolidated data up to the 27th). Vaccination has played a key role in achieving this drop, according to the head of epidemiology at Vall d'Hebron Hospital, Magda Campins, and Biocom researcher Clara Prats. "The over-70s were the group with most deaths; now, thanks to vaccination, almost none of them is admitted to hospital because if they catch covid, most of them are asymptomatic," says the doctor. And she adds: "The weather or restrictions affect all age groups in the same way, but the groups where there is a clearer decline is among the vaccinated."