The Spanish minister of health, Salvador Illa, announced this Friday that smoking outdoors is to be banned throughout Spain when coronavirus safety distances cannot be maintained. And even though people can still smoke in the street if they can find a spot where they are 2 metres away from others, the minister added that "it is better not to smoke". However, the "specific indication", he said, is that people are banned from smoking when "distances cannot be maintained".
This anti-smoking measure, already introduced in Galicia and the Canary Islands, is to be introduced throughout the country's 17 autonomous communities, which agreed unanimously today on a package of new measures to combat the coronavirus, as case numbers are surging in some areas.
Among the steps agreed, said Illa, the nightlife sector - nightclubs, danceclubs, live music venues and cocktail bars - is to be closed down right across the Spanish state. This measure is already in place in some areas, such as Barcelona, but in the context of resurgent numbers of coronavirus cases in many parts of Spain, it is now to be introduced throughout the country.
Total of 11 measures
Visits to people in care homes for the elderly will now be limited to one per day and a maximum duration of one hour - again right across Spain. PCR tests will be compulsory for any new admissions to these care centres, and will also be required for all staff members of the homes when they return to work after holidays.
Although for the moment, the authorities have not reinstated a blanket maximum on the size of mass events, there will be an obligation to carry out an assessment of the safety of such events based on published criteria. Mass testing will also be introduced ad hoc for specific groups in areas where high incidence of coronavirus cases is detected - for example, where a given neighbourhood is hit by rising case numbers, or for workers in a specific industry.
The minister detailed a total of eleven measures approved by the executive to attack the resurgent coronavirus situation. Several related to bars and restaurants, which will now be obliged to close at 1am at the latest across Spain, with no new customers able to be accepted after midnight. Hospitality establishments must also maintain 1.5 metre separations between tables as well as between customers seated at the bar. And a maximum group size of 10 people per table has also been imposed at all restaurants and bars.
Message to young people
The Spanish minister also used his press appearance to give a message to young people and remind them of the importance of complying with safety measures. "Don't have botellons" warned Illa, referring to the common practice of people getting together in public places to share alcohol - "don't smoke if you can't maintain a safe distance, and don't meet up with more than ten people," he said. As well as addressing young people, he offered a few words of praise "for the elderly" for their "strict compliance with the measures."
Illa did not rule out the possibility that new lockdowns will have to be imposed surgically to combat the increase of coronavirus numbers in differents parts in Spain. In fact, as he mentioned, this has already taken place, for example, in the western Catalonia area around Lleida.
Almost 3,000 new cases in a day
For the second consecutive day, the Spanish health ministry reported close to three thousand new confirmed cases of Covid-19 over the previous 24 hours. Specifically, 2,987 new cases of Covid-19 were registered, slightly more than the figure of 2,935 reported yesterday. The major focus is now in Madrid, which for the second day in a row is the community with the most infections, with 731 positives in the last 24 hours. It is followed by Aragon and the Basque Country, with 481 and 480 cases respectively. Andalusia accounts for 244, Catalonia - whose new case numbers have fallen lately in comparison to recent weeks - registered 169, and the Valencian Country, 167. These figures will themselves increase as late-arriving data is added to the day on which the case was confirmed. However, this data, graphed below reveals a clear trend.
It should be mentioned that the proportion of asymptomatic cases has been much higher in the last month than previously. Nevertheless, 62 deaths have occurred in Spain from coronavirus over the last 7 days.