High Court backs covid pass requirement for restaurants, bars, nursing homes and gyms

BarcelonaCatalonia's High Court has given the extension of the use of the covid pass the green light. Thus, from midnight on Friday it will be necessary to show a covid pass (which states whether a person has been vaccinated, has tested negative or gas recovered from the disease) to access the interior of restaurants and bars, as well as gyms and nursing homes, Government sources have confirmed. The Court accept the measure due to the "worsening" of the pandemic in recent weeks.

The measure establishes that affected businesses will have to appoint workers to check customers' certificates. A sign must be placed outside premises informing customers about the measure and specifying that vaccination data in no case will be stored or used for any other purpose. It remains to be seen whether the premises have had enough time to prepare for the implementation of the system, which is to be launched in the coming hours.

The court justifies the measure by quoting the latest report by Catalonia's Public Health Agency, according to which the number of new cases has increased by over 38% in the past week, up to 102 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The age groups with the most significant increase are children between 5 and 14 and adults between 30 and 49 years old.