Regions WILL NOT Be Forced to Limit Mass Events When State of Alarm Ends

The government has said that regions WILL NOT be forced to limit mass events when the State of Alarm ends.

SPAIN’S central government has said that regions WILL NOT be forced to limit mass events when the State of Alarm ends on May 9.

Carolina Darias, the Minister of Health, guarantees that a draft Public Health Commission document on the banning of mass gatherings depending on the incidence rate in the province will only be a guide for regional governments so that measures can be standardised throughout the country, but “in no case will we try to force the regions to follow these recommendations.”

“To recommend is not to prohibit. This type of event is the responsibility of the regions,” the minister said.

The Public Health Commission proposal, which is still being debated, will establish four levels according to the cumulative incidence rate of the province.

The provinces at “extreme risk” – where there is a cumulative incidence rate of 250 cases or more – will not be allowed to hold “cultural, sporting, religious” events or “festivals or conferences” where “a high number of people” would be gathering inside or outside.

In the “high risk” provinces (with an incidence rate between 150 and 250) the maximum capacity at events will be 50 per cent with 250 people outdoors and 40 per cent with 75 indoors, as long as there is a distance of 1.5 metres if there are no fixed seats. If people cannot keep this distance, “the suspension of all events and mass activities” in provinces with high levels of contagion is recommended.

In areas with “medium risk” (an incidence rate between 50 to 150), the capacity will be 75 per cent outdoors with a maximum of 500 people and 50 per cent indoors with a maximum of 150.

In the provinces in the “new normal” bracket (if they have less than 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) there can be activities with a maximum capacity of 75 per cent outside and 60 per cent indoors and with a maximum of 1,000 people outdoors and 300 people indoors.

Source: SUR