The Catalan government has imposed drastic anti-Covid measures just two days before Christmas in the Pyrenean counties of El Ripollès and La Cerdanya, both on the northern border with France. The perimeters of the two counties will be closed to most traffic this Tuesday night from midnight. The measure is to last for two weeks, that is, for the whole of the Catalan holiday period. On January 8th, it will be reviewed. As happened in March in the Òdena Basin, the Catalan authorities have decided to carry out a perimeter confinement and have imposed exceptional measures.
The decision was made this evening at the Procicat civil protection meeting, although the Catalan health ministry admitted that for two weeks now the data from the Pyrenean areas has been on the rise. The Rt contagion rate and EPG outbreak risk index have now risen sharply for both counties, and after receiving the latest data today it has been decided to impose a perimeter closure.
The Catalan interior minister, Miquel Sàmper, explained the exceptions for entering and leaving the two counties, which include: justified travel to go to work, study, care for dependent people, return to usual residence, and for necessary bureaucratic and bank appointments.
Mossos d'Esquadra police will close the perimeter in the next few hours, but the two counties both contain border crossings to France, and through traffic will be allowed to pass entry controls. Freight transport and private vehicles with justified destinations will be let through - mobility certificates or proof of destination should be carried.
Other restrictions have also been toughened. For Christmas, in both counties, gatherings will now be limited to six people. Restaurants and bars are required to close completely. Indoor sporting activities and most cultural activities are also suspended.
The two counties both contain ski and alpine sport destinations, such as Vall de Núria and La Molina.
Outbreak risk indicators sky-high
The EPG outbreak risk index in El Ripollès county is 1,858 and that of La Cerdanya has risen to 4,081. The Rt index in both places is well above the Catalan average, which is 1.4. “It’s a difficult situation, because no one likes to have to make those decisions around these dates,” said Jacobo Mendioroz, director of the Coronavirus Monitoring Unit.
The Catalan government admits that there is more population than usual in the two counties and that this has triggered the contagion risk. Mendioroz said that outbreaks could be occurring among "people who do not normally live in these municipalities".
The situation is critical in local hospitals at Campdevànol and La Cerdanya, small facilities which do not have intensive care facilities and right now cannot respond to the virus.
Highway checks
Two hundred Mossos d'Esquadra police will be deployed every day to control the perimeter confinement. All major and secondary roads will be cut.