Spain plans to limit Christmas gatherings to 6 people and impose a curfew at 1

The Government of Spain proposes limiting family and social gatherings at Christmas to six people, and decreeing a night curfew between 1 and 6 a.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, according to a draft that The Eastern Herald has had access to.

“It is recommended to limit participation to members who belong to the same coexistence group. In the event that there is an external member who does not regularly live together, the meetings will be of up to a maximum of six people, ”reads the draft of the document entitled Proposals for public health measures against Covid-19 for the celebration of the Christmas festivities, carried out by the Ministry of Health and which will be taken to the Interterritorial Council to be analyzed and debated with the autonomous communities.

Likewise, during the Christmas celebrations, “the nightly confinement will be maintained, and it will not be possible to go out on the streets at the times established in each autonomous community after the declaration of the state of alarm .” While on December 24 and 31 “the schedule will be extended, limiting mobility from 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.” Currently, the curfew of the autonomies is at 23.00.

“It is recommended to avoid or minimize meetings in the social sphere (work celebrations, former students, sports clubs, etc.). In the case of being held, it will be for a maximum of six people and preferably outside (outdoors or on terraces with a maximum of two walls) ”, states the document.

It is also urged to “avoid, as a general rule, those trips that are not strictly necessary.” Travel between communities will be allowed, but with the utmost caution. In the event that “exceptionally” a trip must be made within the national territory, both intercommunity and intracommunity, “it must be done safely: complying with the recommendations indicated in each means of transport, using a mask, frequent hand washing, and keeping physical distance ”, warns the Ministry of Health.

With regard to international travel, those coming from a country or risk zone must present a PCR test with a negative result carried out 72 hours before arrival in Spain. If the test is not performed, the foreign health services will do it upon arrival. While Spaniards who travel abroad must comply with “the rules or restrictions that apply in the destination countries.”

On the other hand, the Government recommends that university students who return home for the holidays “to limit social interactions the days before they return home and to take extreme prevention measures.” ” Once at home, they should try to limit contacts, interact mostly outdoors rather than indoors and wear masks, ” the document states.

Vaccination against the COVID-19 disease in Spain will begin in January 2021 and will not be mandatory, as announced last Saturday by the Spanish Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, about the plan that the Executive of the socialist Pedro Sánchez will announce this week.

The objective of this plan is that by mid-2021 some 30 million citizens will have been vaccinated, “ 70% of the population in round numbers ”, which would allow a good part of the citizenship to be immunized, Illa said in a radio interview.