The Catalan interior ministry has issued a warning to people planning trips this weekend, the first after a partial lifting of Covid restrictions on travel beyond county (comarcal) boundaries, which could mean there will more people on the roads. The key reminder is that only travel in bubble groups has been eased.
The concern arises partly because of the increased mobility that has been noticed during the week. More people are travelling - and at the same time fewer are downloading and using the self-responsibility mobility certificates (digital version available in English here). Some Catalans have misread the partial lifting of county confinement as a blanket permission to travel all around Catalonia, when it is not. It only applies to travel by bubble groups. "The explanations have not been effective enough," said Sergio Delgado, deputy director of Civil Protection, given the data from recent days.
"There is a misconception that county confinement has been ended. The county confinement is still in place. Only bubble groups can cross county lines," said interior minister Miquel Sàmper, with his gaze fixed on this weekend and also on the Easter break, which starts for schools in just over a week's time. According to Sàmper, there is "sustained and considerable growth in mobility."
Sàmper: "There is an erroneous perception that there is no longer any [county] confinement, but it still applies"
The fear is that this weekend there will be an increase in mobility all across Catalonia: "Traffic will increase, that is obvious," admitted Sàmper, who has already announced the reactivation of highway checkpoints by the Mossos at the weekend. Travel to both coastal areas and interior natural parks is foreseen, and controls on access to the natural parks are being reactivated to prevent congestion.
Samper also announced random checks by the Mossos at which self-responsibility mobility certificates and documentation proving the bubble group status of those in the vehicle will be requested.
Civil Protection reminds that the public that travel outside one's one county is only possible with members of a common bubble group. The confinement by comarques has been in force since February 8th, the day the even-tighter municipal confinement that had come into force on January 7th was relaxed.
A printable PDF version in English of the current version of the self-responsibility mobility certificates is available here, while the PDF version in English of the certificate for movement at night, after curfew, is here. A digital version of both, with options of English, Castilian and Catalan, is here.
The data that raised the alarm
In the last week, downloads of the certificate of self-responsibility have dropped dramatically. Up to 80,000 certificates a day had been downloaded and right now the figure is just 15,000 daily.
In terms of mobility, traffic measurement showed that it increased by 9% this Monday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the increase was at 5% compared to the previous week.
Right now, mobility data is showing about the same levels as in September last year.