Procicat studies "softening" curfew and allowing restaurants to serve dinner outdoors
Vaccination slots extended to people aged 70-79 years, half of whom already have at least one dose
BarcelonaA key week towards controlling the pandemic in Catalonia. From this Monday the Department of Health will expand the points of administration of the Pfizer vaccine, because in addition to primary care centres (CAP) people aged between 70 and 79 years will also be vaccinated in places where vaccines from other pharmaceutical companies are already administered. Half of the people in this age group have already received their first dose of covid-19. In absolute terms, 22% of the population of Catalonia has received an injection of the vaccine and 8.4% have the full regimen and are immunised. The vaccination teams have administered a total of 2,349,853 doses of vaccine in Catalonia, of which only 5,186 were inoculated yesterday, compared to the 50,345 doses that had been administered the previous day.
The extension of vaccination spaces is not the only novelty in terms of covid-19: this Monday also sees the lifting of regional lockdown come into force. Procicat is already studying the lifting of other restrictions. As explained by the acting Minister of Home Affairs, Miquel Sàmper, in an interview with 3/24, they are looking at allowing restaurants to serve dinner first outdoors, and then indoors.
In addition, Sàmper has opened the door "to soften" curfew before the end of the validity of the state of alarm, on 9 May, since right now the Generalitat has opted for the most restrictive option and there is "margin" to change it to 23 h, for example. Sàmper also said that the Government is working on an asymmetrical easing of restrictions that may include tougher measures for territories such as Lleida, which have higher rates of covid-19 contagion, and more relaxed for regions such as Terres de l'Ebre. According to the Minister, the current situation "has nothing to do with the first, or the second, or the third wave", and added that the "paradigm of opening and closing" should not be repeated.
In fact, when the state of alarm falls, the government will have to pass the restrictions it wants to apply through the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC). That is why the pandemic indicators will be key when it comes to arguing the measures before the judges, and the measures can hardly be the same throughout the country. This is the same as in the period between 21 June last year - when the first state of alarm ended - and October, because during those months the restrictions also had to be taken to court.
Two illegal mass parties in Barcelona in one night
Despite this, some people have advanced to the lifting of restrictions: the Guardia Urbana of Barcelona dismantled this Saturday afternoon an illegal party with about 200 people in a venue in the Born shopping area and denounced the head of the establishment. In addition, the GUB also caught 52 people early Sunday morning at a celebration in a car park on Passeig Valldaura, in the district of Nou Barris. The police received a tip-off at around 1 a.m. and the 50 or so participants were reported for not respecting the restrictions against covid-19. Already on Friday night, the Guardia Urbana evicted some 300 people who were in Terenci Moix square, in the Raval, and denounced 216, although without making any arrests.