The Catalan government wants to extend restrictions for another fortnight, until January 21. This Tuesday, it will approve at its weekly meeting the covid commission's proposal to extend the measures in force since December 24 and originally ending January 7.

The increase in contagions has led the the Government to close nightlife in indoor spaces, and everything suggested that there would be other restrictive measures that could affect cultural activities. Until now all cultural activities, both indoors and outdoors, were only allowed with the public seated. This is what is stated in the measures approved by Procicat and currently in force. But this Tuesday the Government has announced that cultural activities will be allowed with the public standing. That is, instead of restrictions, more things will be allowed. So, how are the cultural activities?

Restaurants will be able to serve dinner until 11pm from 9 May onwards, the day the current state of alarm expires. On the same day, amusement parks, closed since the end of last summer, will also be allowed to reopen their doors. For next week, the Procicat maintains almost all current restrictions, waiting for the acceleration of the pace of vaccination to reduce covid transmissions, hospitalizations and mortality.

The Generalitat is looking at the covid data to decide whether a new tightening of restrictions is necessary. This is the main issue for Civil Protection to decide on this week; although it met on Monday, a decision is expected to come towards the end of the week, when a clearer picture of the impact on Health Services can be obtained. The measures in force end on Friday, April 9, and in fact the Secretary General of Health, Marc Ramentol, has stated that they need 48 to 72 hours to decide whether to make measures more restrictive: "The indicators are not increasing but remain stable. This is not good news for us and we will have to give us some time in order to not make decisions in the heat of the moment," he said on Catalunya Ràdio.

Bars and restaurants in Catalonia will be able to serve uninterruptedly until 5pm from Monday and up to six people will be able to sit at tables without the need for them to belong to only two different bubbles. The Government has agreed to lift the slots with shifts for breakfasts and lunches that were introduced mid-December in the restaurant industry in order to "give more breathing space" to one of the sectors most affected by the restrictions. Despite the downturn in the epidemiological curve, the instability of the pandemic, heavily influenced by uncertainty as to the impact the British coronavirus variant, which is predominant throughout the country, may end up having, obliges the government not to take any major steps or announce a major de-escalation plan. In fact, the executive considers that the curfew and the restrictions on mobility will stay in place a little longer. In fact, it is expected that entering or leaving Catalonia will not be allowed until after Easter at the earliest. "We are maintaining most of the measures but we are making tentative openings that will be in force for the next seven days. We will monitor developments week by week to take the most appropriate measures," said the Catalan Health Councillor, Alba Vergés.