Catalan Govern contemplates relaxing restrictions for hospitality industry, sport and after-school activities

BarcelonaThe Generalitat is contemplating relaxing restrictions on the hospitality industry, sport and extracurricular activities, according to Government spokesperson Meritxell Budó, who has said that they are already analysing what changes could be introduced and has specified that a decision will be taken between "tomorrow and Friday". The administration's diagnosis of the current situation of the pandemic is that the curve of infections is falling but still "very slowly". Therefore, for the Catalan executive there is room to make changes, but following the principle of prudence.

The Government is facing a scenario in which the data on the impact of the virus show some improvement, but at a slower pace than they would like. Given this fact, Budó has shown caution about the remaining restrictions. Thus, although she has opened the door to relaxing the measures affecting restoration, sport and extracurricular activities, she has ruled out doing so in other areas such as the night curfew and restrictions on mobility. "That is not where we are at. What we don't want is to take one step forward and then take two steps back," she argued. Some of those affected by the refusal to alter restrictions on travel between counties will be Barça members. The Generalitat has confirmed that they will not be exempt from the restriction, meaning many will not be able to go to the stadium to vote. Budó has argued that "additional measures" have been taken, such as vote by mail, to ensure everybody can vote.

The Government has claimed again this Tuesday that it is aware that all these limitations affect issues as elementary as individual freedoms, but claims that the pandemic is still grave. "We are still managing a third wave and the impact has been strong," said the spokesperson. In fact, one of the many unknowns is whether it will be necessary to postpone the celebration of Sant Jordi, the traditional festivity around books. This has caused concern, especially after it has been announced that the 2021 edition of Primavera Sound will not be taking place. Budó has expressed her respect for the decision of the music festival and, about Sant Jordi, did not want to take anything for granted: "There is no decision taken".

Uncertainty around Easter

Finally, another question that the Catalan executive has to solve is what to do with Easter. There is less than a month left and, as already happened with the Christmas holidays, the focus is on what restrictions will be in force then, since they are restrictions that can have a major impact on sectors such as tourism. Budó explained that the Generalitat does not yet have the details, but is committed to "plan" this issue, establish a "calendar" and, ultimately, not leave it to the last minute. "If the data goes well, a calendar could be drawn up to see what would be allowed, when, with what mobility and what could be carried out or not, in order to be able to foresee and plan," he said. Even so, he added that it is still early to draw conclusions: "We have the month of March to see what restrictions we can lift. Be that as it may, with this calendar the Govern indirectly assumes that it will try to avoid the situation of last December when it did not specify the restrictions that affected the Christmas shutdown until just before the holidays.