Health Department asks for up to 72 hours to decide whether to tighten restrictions

BarcelonaThe 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.

"We have some complicated days ahead," Ramentol continued, referring to the rising number of admissions to ICUs (431 patients in total and seven more in the last 24 hours). In addition, there are 1,608 admitted to hospitals for covid-19 and the figure has risen by 57 since the last update yesterday, while 17 deaths have been recorded.

The director of epidemiology and preventive medicine at the Hospital de la Vall d'Hebron, Magda Campins, said on Catalunya Ràdio that if after today to Friday the number of cases continues to grow "will have to toughen the measures". "We cannot wait for ICUs to be full to make decisions".

The evolution of the pandemic in the rest of the State also worries the Spanish government. "There is a clear rise but we have to be cautious to see where this upturn takes us," said the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias. She has pointed out that the goal of vaccinating 70% of the population by the end of summer is "within reach".