The slow but steady improvement in Catalonia's epidemiological indicators is not yet good enough, and the government is extending the current anti-Covid restrictions for another seven days. The stand-out measure remains the night-time curfew from 1am to 6am, which will still affect most of Catalonia's largest cities and towns. However, the criteria for its application have been changed, so that the list of municipalities under curfew from this weekend will, if the court give the green light to the new criton, fall from 176 towns to 148.
In fact, although the number of towns affected has dropped considerably, the criteria for applying the curfew has been tightened. Until now, it included municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants and a 7-day cumulative incidence (IA7) of more than 250 cases per 100,000 people. Now, the IA7 which triggers curfew has been halved: it will apply to municipalities of over 5,000 people which exceed 125 cases per 100,000.
Below, the full searchable list of Catalan municipalities expected to be under curfew from this Friday 20th August:
The number of localities on the list has been reduced, due to the fact that the epidemiological situation in Catalonia has been progressively improving. Thus, although criteria for curfew have been tightened, many towns find themselves excluded from the list at last, due to the falling numbers of cases they have registered. As previously, the localities which are required to enforce the curfew also include a significant number - currently, 23 - which are forced to apply the curfew because they are "completely or almost completely surrounded by curfew-affected municipalities", as the Catalan government has put it.
As with every extension of these summer 2021 measures, the Catalan government is required to submit them for approval by Catalan High Court (TSJC). If approved - as they have been every week since coming into force in July - they will be valid for seven days and will enter into force on 20th August.
Improvement in indicators
All epidemiological indicators are now declining in Catalonia, with one exception: the Rt transmission rate. For the fifth day in a row, this indicator has been virtually stationary, whereas prior to that it had been trending downwards steadily since July. However, the level at which it is "stuck", 0.79, is well below the turning point of 1 and therefore indicates that the pandemic is contracting rather that expanding.
The rest of the indicators continue a steady and uninterrupted decline. The EPC outbreak risk has fallen below 300 points for the first time in months and stands at 282 points. Daily Covid infections are already far from the records recorded at the peak of the fifth wave, at around 2,000 per day. Yesterday's figure was 1,976.
As for the average IA7 in Catalan territory, it is slightly above the Catalan government's criterion for implementing the curfew: specifically, at 154 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Main image: Man waiting for the NitBus in Barcelona / Carlos Baglietto