The spread of the coronavirus in Spain has tripled in the last three weeks after the easing of blocking measures, health officials say.
The virus, which infected residents there at a rate of eight per 100,000 in late June, is now infecting 27 per 100,000, deputy director of health emergencies Maria Sierra said Monday.
“Where the measures have relaxed is where these groups appear,” added Health Minister Salvador Illa. “We are talking about extended family reunions and spaces associated with nightlife.”
People wait to enter a beach that was closed by the police due to the agglomeration in Barcelona on Saturday. (AP)
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Spanish authorities have identified 201 new groups of coronaviruses across the country, mainly in the Catalan cities of Barcelona and Lleida, according to Reuters.
Since the outbreak began, Spain, which has a population of over 47 million, has had 264,836 coronavirus cases and 28,422 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. About 4,500 of those cases were reported last weekend, Reuters says.
TOURISTS CAUSING PROBLEMS ON THE SPANISH BEACHES RECENTLY CLAIMING POINTS AND THEN LEAVING FOR HOURS
Due to the recent outbreak in Catalonia, the authorities have reinstated the coronavirus prevention measures.
Customers buy fish at a Barcelona market on Friday. Spanish health authorities say that many of the new coronavirus groups that have appeared across the country are in the Catalonia region. (AP)
Catalonia was the first region to make face masks mandatory regardless of the distance between people in public areas. He then closed a rural area that houses 210,000 people around Lleida and banned the gatherings of more than 10 people in Barcelona, while asking them to limit their outings.
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However, police in Barcelona closed access to a large area of the city’s beaches on Saturday after many bathers ignored the authorities’ request to stay home.
Spain’s initial blocking restrictions began to ease in late May and the government has since been watching the data to guide its future plans.
Peter Aitken of Fox News and Associated Press contributed to this report.
