Spain, some parts of the country shut down nightlife amid rising cases of COVID-19

The governments of the Asturias and Cantabria regions are closing nightclubs completely, while the Aragon and Navarra regions are closing their doors only after midnight.

Today, the La Rioja regional government also announced the implementation of vaccination passports in many sectors and that bars, restaurants and nightclubs should be closed by 1am.

The new restrictions come as more than one in 100 people in Spain tested positive for coronavirus in the last two weeks. In parts of northern Spain, one in every 50 people is recently infected with the virus.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the rate of infection has not been so high in Spain. At the same time, 18 percent of all tests are positive.

At the national level, masks are required indoors and outdoors. Decisions to implement further restrictions are in the hands of regional governments.

Some governments such as Madrid and Castile and Leon, where the infection rate is also higher than average, have ruled out implementing more measures before the New Year celebrations.

The head of health policy in Madrid, Antonio Zapatero, at a press conference said that what is happening now was expected and manageable.

“The symptoms that Omicron produces are comparable to an acute seasonal viral infection,” he said.

Zapatero noted that the number of hospitalized patients has dropped 86 percent compared to last winter’s increase before most people were vaccinated.

While drastically lower than in previous waves, the number of hospitalized patients and deaths is rising in Spain.

About 8 percent of all hospital beds and 18 percent of intensive care units in Spain are being used by patients affected by COVID-19.

But with 90 percent of people over the age of 12 vaccinated and uncertain about the severity of the coronavirus Omicron strain, strategies to curb the increase in cases are hotly debated and vary considerably across the country.

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