The Catalan executive had requested judicial authorization to apply the curfew, from 01:00 to 06:00.
A court authorized this Thursday the establishment of a curfew in a large area of the Spanish region of Catalonia, to stop the escalation of COVID-19 infections.
The High Court of Catalonia announced that it “ratifies the covid-19 protection measures requested” by the Catalan regional government, which also include the closure of nightclubs and the limitation of private meetings to a maximum of ten people.
The Catalan executive had requested judicial authorization to apply the curfew, from 01:00 to 06:00 in those localities where the incidence exceeds 250 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days, which currently covers a large part of the northeastern region of Spain. 7.8 million inhabitants.
The restrictions, which for affecting fundamental freedoms required judicial authorization, will come into effect from midnight on Thursday to Friday, the eve of Christmas Eve, and will have an initial duration of fifteen days in this tourist region.
Catalonia will be the only Spanish region with a curfew.
The measures will come into force after the central government adopted a decree on Thursday to reinstate the obligation to wear a mask outdoors throughout the country, which on Wednesday registered a new daily record of infections, with 60,041 cases in 24 hours.
The measure on the mask, which comes into force on Friday and which the government of the socialist Pedro Sánchez expects to be “temporary”, has certain exceptions, such as for people who practice sports or are “in a natural space” such as the field or the beach and the distance can be maintained, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, explained at a press conference on Thursday.
The return of the mask outdoors was the most concrete measure announced Wednesday night at the close of an extraordinary meeting between the central government and regional executives, competent in Spain in matters of public health.
For her part, the president of Madrid, the conservative Isabel Díaz Ayuso, ruled out on Thursday applying new restrictions in her region.
Spain, one of the leaders in vaccination with 80% of its population vaccinated, faces like many other countries a new wave of covid-19 amid the spread of the omicron variant, more contagious.
The incidence in Spain is 784 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in fourteen days, a figure four times higher than on December 1.
In any case, this new wave has been less serious than previous ones: 15.7% of intensive care units are occupied by covid patients, compared to 30% in mid-January 2021, according to figures from the Ministry of Health. (I)
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