Government maintains current restrictions except for activities for children and sport
The apparent change in the trend of the curve worries the authorities, who will maintain the current measures until February 28th
The Govern has decided this Friday to maintain all restrictions in force against the covid, among them the regional lockdown and the close of the nonessential shops at the weekend, at least for a further seven days. The only areas where restrictions will be relaxed from Monday will be sports and children's leisure activities. The Procicat, led by the Departments of Health and Home Affairs, has authorised the extracurricular activities and school sports, as well as activities in the field of educational leisure aimed at children who are in the stages of Early Childhood Education and Primary Education. Federated sport and sports councils will now be allowed to train in groups of no more than six people and take part in the permitted competitions.
The flattening of the epidemiological curve - some indicators have even recorded a slight upturn, such as the rate of infection (Rt), which has increased from 0.83 to 0.86 in just three days) and the threat of new variants have made the Government maintain the bulk of the current containment measures, at least until 28 February. "In view of the apparent change in trend occurred in recent days, an attitude of caution was decided on, waiting to see the evolution of indicators over the coming days," explains the Generalitat in a statement.
The Catalan authorities stress that the pressure on hospitals is still very high, with 2,026 patients in covid wards and 613 in ICU, and point out that this level of occupation combined with the presence of the British variant, which has been shown to be more infectious and transmissible and already accounts for a third of the infections detected in the country, can cause a sudden growth of the curve. Such an increase would lead to the collapse of the health system, as hospitals have too high a baseline occupancy to absorb even higher demand. "We advise maintaining the measures that aim to limit mobility and social interaction to reduce the level of contagion and that are associated with a message to the public based on precaution and containment," insists the Government.
Current restrictions
Catalonia, therefore, keeps closed borders except for those travelling with a properly justified motive, and also the local lockdown by counties (comarca). That is to say, people will only be able to move within their county, except for justified reasons. There is no change to the curfew, which will continue between 10pm and 6 am.
Bars and restaurants' will continue to serve from 7:30 am to 10:30 am and from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm, both indoors and outdoors. Otherwise, they mar only serve takeaways or home deliveries..
Small shops' capacity is still reduced to 30% and will have to close at weekends. Shopping centres and shops over 400 sq. m. will remain closed at all times. Cultural events, museums, libraries and exhibition halls will operate at 50% capacity. Cinemas, theatres, auditoriums, circuses and concert halls will also operate at 50% capacity and a maximum of 500 people or a thousand if ventilation is optimal. "This category explicitly includes the term "circus" as a cultural event to avoid confusion", the Government has clarified.
In the field of sports, facilities in enclosed spaces can remain open with a capacity of 30% and with group activities limited to 6 people. Use of masks is mandatory. Outdoor sports facilities will remain open with a maximum capacity of 50% and access control. In addition, religious events and civil ceremonies will continue to be held at 30% capacity, also with a maximum of five hundred people or a thousand if ventilation is optimal.
