The Catalan government will "very soon" publish a resolution in response to the coronavirus crisis that will prohibit business activities in, or entirely close down, commercial areas in Catalonia that are not focused on essential products, as well as leisure businesses such as gyms, night clubs, and ski resorts, the Catalan interior minister Miquel Buch has announced this Friday at the press conference of the Procicat civil emergency committee.
"We do not rule out that the scenario will change in the next few hours and more drastic measures will be needed," said the minister, insisting that the goal is to prevent the virus from spreading and to avoid the health service from being overwhelmed.
The measures will become effective as soon as the resolution is published and will be binding. It will affect large shopping areas that are not devoted to food and other essentials. The minister did not specify whether the order would include bars and restaurants, but suggested that they might be included in the resolution based on the capacity of the premises.
Avoid travelling
At the press conference, the Catalan minister also called for the postponement of meetings or gatherings of people to prevent the virus from spreading easily and for the avoidance or reduction of travel. "Anything that might cause people to stay at home will help us prevent this spread," he insisted, with a view to the weekend ahead.
Buch explained that "for now there is no order for lockdown of the population, but a" recommendation" to all members of the public to "avoid the use of public spaces" as much as possible.
Questioned about the operation of public transport, he explained that the Catalan government had considered that the reduction in the activity of schools and the increase in tele-working would lead to a reduction in the use of collective transport, and that, he said, was what had happened.
Concerning the lockdown centred on Igualada, he explained that since 1:30am this morning nobody had left the area, and that the operation is taking place with "absolute normality". Last night, in the hours before the restriction came into force, 765 people had left the area who, according to the minister, had been previously identified.