Cataluña shuts bars and restaurants as COVID-19 cases rise

Cataluña in the latest region in Spain to introduce lockdown restrictions following a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Cataluña’s health authorities have announced the closure of all bars and restaurants for 15 days.

Shopping Centres will have capacities reduced drastically to just 30%, while gyms can operate at 50% capacity.

The Catalan government today announced university classes must be conducted remotely while sporting events are suspended for the 15 days.

The region currently has 1,024 COVID-19 patients in Catalan hospitals – 189 in ICU.

The 17 new patients admitted to ICU yesterday consitututes the biggest rise since 26 May.

Cases per 100,000 over the last 14 days are at 263. This is lower than the 500 per 100,000 inhabitants agreed on by Spain’s autonomous governments as benchmarks for lockdown restrictions.