BRUSSELS – A nighttime curfew is due to be reintroduced this weekend in several major cities in Catalonia, including Barcelona, ​​due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.

The curfew must apply from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. in municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants where the incidence rate exceeds 400 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 inhabitants, the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia announced on Friday.

It will last at least until July 23.

According to official figures, the 14-day incidence rate in Spain currently stands at 458 cases per 100,000, but in the northeastern region of Catalonia it is over 1,000 cases per 100,000. Barcelona has a rate of 1,145.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Young adults are particularly affected, with the incidence rate for the 20-29 age group exceeding 3,000 cases per 100,000 last week in Catalonia.

Health director Josep Maria Argimon said the situation was “very bad”, with more than 8,000 new cases officially reported per day in the region of 7.5 million people.

The curfew comes a few days after regional authorities ordered the closure of night activities no later than 12:30 a.m. and restricted public and private gatherings to a maximum of 10 people.

A nighttime curfew was also approved on Monday in the neighboring region of Valencia, while Navarre, which also borders Catalonia, made the same request to its Superior Court of Justice earlier this week.

Spain is grappling with an increase in the number of cases – the number of infections quintupled in the previous fortnight – but the impact on hospital occupancy has, for now, remained limited.

Catalonia, by far the region most affected by the outbreak of the infection, currently has 1,665 people hospitalized because of the virus, with COVID-19 patients occupying less than 25% of intensive care beds.

The health ministry said the vaccination campaign had helped slow the rise in hospitalizations.

More than 61.5% of the 47 million people have received at least one dose, while around 49% are now fully immunized. – Euronews