Everything closed by 12.30 am and gatherings limited to 10 people

BarcelonaThe Catalan Government wants to put a stop to social life in the street after 12.30 am. The Generalitat will force all economic and leisure activities to close at this time to try to stop the explosion of covid contagions in recent weeks. Shortly after midnight bars, restaurants (except those in service stations), nightlife venues, cultural venues and 24-hour shops will have to close. But the executive will also ask councils to limit access to public spaces, such as parks and beaches, between midnight and 6 am. The aim is to avoid crowds and social gatherings at night, according to government spokesperson Patrícia Plaja.

The intention was to deploy "surgical" measures, but finally it has been announced that they also want to prohibit social gatherings that exceed 10 people, that cultural events can only be held if the entire audience is seated - now outdoor concerts could be held with an audience of up to 3,000 people - that no food or drink can be consumed in the street except during school activities and that both religious and civil ceremonies' capacity will be limited to 70%. The Catalan High Court will have the last word on some measures - the maximum of 10 people and religious ceremonies - as they affect fundamental rights. But Plaja has advanced that the entry into force of all the new restrictions will be subject to the judicial response, which is expected to arrive before the end of the week.

The package of measures was announced after an emergency government meeting. Plaja warned that the covid data are "terrible", because there are already 1,091 people in hospital due to the virus, 209 of them in ICU. The Minister of Health, Josep Maria Argimon, has said that the figures are "very bad" and that we must reduce social interaction, after warning that there is now less perceived risk of the virus. "I thought there would be an upturn, but never this explosion in cases," admitted Argimon, who has warned that the executive is considering more drastic restrictions such as bringing back the curfew. The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, has commissioned a report from the legal services in case a new curfew needs to be put in place, inspired by the decision taken by the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Country, authorsing the curfew in 32 municipalities due to the strong incidence of covid.

Without the state of alarm, the curfew needs judicial approval. That is why the Government wants to make sure that if it requests it, it will be able to enforce it, relying on the criterion of the Valencian court. The director of the Centre for Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, Fernando Simon, has defined the situation of the pandemic in Catalonia as "really dramatic", which is why he believes "reasonable" and "perfectly logical" to apply new measures, reports Laia Forès. According to Simon, the increase in infections, especially among young people, cannot only be attributed to the delta variant: "We are doing things that are probably high-risk and involve an increase in transmission. The delta variant may have something to do with it, but it is not responsible," he said.

Music festivals in the spotlight

The new restrictions to curb the virus will not involve any suspension of music festivals or town festivals, although they will have to comply with the 12.30 a.m. closure and the crowd will have to be seated during shows. The Government will insist that local councils avoid mass events. The crowds seen at the Cruïlla, Canet Rock and Vida festivals have put music events in the limelight, and Argimon has acknowledged that he didn't like what he saw, especially people not wearing masks. The Minister of Health argued that the negative antigen tests could give a false sense of security and has said that the festivals were authorised at a "absolutely different" moment.

Argimon has considered that at three o'clock in the morning it is easier "that the mask slips off". For that reason he has trusted that closing at 00.30 h will have an impact on young people's spaces. The Catalan Minister of Home Affairs, Joan Ignasi Elena, explained that the police will make sure that between 12.30 am and 6 am there are no crowds in parks and beaches, which he recommend closing. According to Elena, successful operations have already been carried out in several coastal towns.