Laurence Dollimore
THE Catalan government has revealed it is considering bringing in lockdowns at the weekend in a bid to tackle coronavirus.
The Generalitat announced this morning that there will be more restrictive measures coming for the entire region, which includes Barcelona.
Minister Meritxell Budo told Catalunya Radio that bringing in a lockdown at the weekends is one of the measures on the table.
The goal, she said, is to avoid a permanent and total confinement, as was seen back in March.
“We must avoid the confinement of March unless it is strictly necessary and it is the only option that we can apply,” she said.
“For this reason, we have to explore different scenarios and one scenario could be weekend lockdowns.”
The confinement would affect Saturday and Sundays, the two days where typically thousands of people travel to their second homes or meet up with family and friends for days out.
It comes after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared a nationwide state of alarm on Sunday.
The move has given the autonomous communities legal cover to enact stricter measures in their fights against coronavirus.
The Generalitat today reported 4,077 new cases of the virus in Catalunya and 25 new deaths.
The total death toll stands at 13,819 in the region. Hospitals have registered 132 new admissions, up to a total of 2,017, of which 347 are in the ICU, five more than yesterday.
