Madrid, Catalonia, with its tourist metropolis Barcelona, has again announced strict restrictions on public life in view of rapidly rising coronavirus numbers.

A curfew will be imposed between 1 and 6 am as the occupancy of restaurants, cultural and leisure facilities as well as the number of people attending private meetings will be limited. This was announced by the autonomous region in north-eastern Spain.

These measures were to come into force on Friday for an initial period of 15 days. Catalonia’s Supreme Court still has to approve the plans.

Coronavirus numbers are rising rapidly in Spain despite a high vaccination rate of around 90 per cent of all people over the age of 12.

The seven-day incidence rate of new infections per 100,000 residents is now a 377.

The burden is also increasing in hospitals: A total of 1,442 coronavirus patients were treated in intensive care units, occupying 15.5 per cent of capacity.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called an emergency meeting for Wednesday afternoon. The videoconference with the presidents of the autonomous regions will discuss measures to contain the pandemic, Sanchez announced in a TV address broadcast nationwide on Sunday.

The highly contagious Omicron variant of the virus is also circulating in Spain and, according to experts, should soon be prevalent.

Source: Oman News Agency