Latest: Coronavirus in Spain figures (16 July)
Curfew returns to 32 Valencian towns and cities
Valencia’s High Court has approved the government’s request to re-impose a curfew between 1am and 6am in 32 towns and cities with the highest Covid-19 infection rates.
The towns affected, all with more than 5,000 inhabitants and a high risk level, are Benicàssim in Castellón province, Sant Vicent del Raspeig in Alicante province, with the other 30 in Valencia province. They are: Almàssera, Buñol, El Puig, Tavernes Blanques, Vilamarxant, Alboraya, Benaguasil, Benetússer, Benifaió, l’Eliana, Meliana, Moncada, Picanya, Picassent, Puçol, Requena, Riba-roja, Sedaví, Silla, Utiel, Alaquàs, Aldaia, Burjassot, Catarroja, Quart de Poblet, Xirivella, Gandia, Mislata, Paterna and Valencia capital.
The curfew comes into effect immediately and will be in place for 14 days, during which time the authorities hope it will help to break the chains of transmission of the virus.
Restrictions back as Covid infections soar
An 8pm limit on stores selling alcohol and the closing of pubs and bars at half-past midnight are some of the measures being brought back in, following the continued rise in Coronavirus infections in the Valencia region. There are also limits being placed on the numbers allowed at tables at bars and restaurants, to a maximum of 10 people outside and six inside.
Since Friday evening botellones (drinking alcohol in the street in large groups) are now classified as a serious offence in the region, and police teams are also being asked by the regional government to clamp down on them. Previously they were registered as a minor offence with a fine of up to €600, however, serious offences carry a fine of between €601 and €30,000.
Meanwhile, the sale of alcohol after 8pm is no longer allowed, except in establishments where it is consumed on the premises. The previous rules were that alcohol could not be sold between 10pm and 7am.
The changes in restrictions, which came into force at midnight on Friday and will apply until 25 July, were announced by the Valencia government on Thursday in an attempt to curb the new wave of infections which has brought an incidence rate of 262 per 100,000 of population. Above 250 is the level classified as ‘extreme risk’, and it is now six times what it was just five weeks ago when Valencia had one of the lowest rates in the country. Click here for all reports on: Coronavirus in Spain.
🔴 Actualització Mesures #COVID19 ⤵
— Generalitat (@generalitat) July 8, 2021
🌃 Tancament oci nocturn (podrà operar en les condicions de bar)
🍽️ Hostaleria fins a les 00.30 h i taules limitades
👥 Reducció d'aforament esdeveniments massius
📅 En vigor des del dissabte 10 de juliol fins al diumenge 25 de juliol pic.twitter.com/l3AIAQj7in
Covid figures
This week there have been 10,150 new infections of Covid across the region, compared to 5,198 last week and 1,172 just a month ago. There have been 1,896 all-clears, compared to 1,300 last week. Five deaths have been recorded, four of those within the past week and one from June.
Hospitalisations continue to rise, with 291 people in the region’s hospitals as of Friday, a huge increase on last week’s 174. Meanwhile the number of those needing treatment in the ICU has almost doubled from 19 last week to 31 this week. Of those, 28 are in the Valencia province, which also has the highest number of hospital admissions, 242, a reflection on the higher infection rates in the regional capital.
Infection rates for all individual towns can be seen by clicking on this link for the regional government’s map, with the darker areas being those of greatest infection.
Vaccinations
On Thursday Valencia president Ximo Puig announced that the vaccination of 20-29 year olds would be brought forward to the first week of August. He also said that this week all those aged 40-49, the largest group, would have at least a first dose of the vaccine.
He said that almost five million doses have so far been administered in the region and that currently 61.6% of Valencians eligible for vaccination have received a first dose and that almost half are now fully vaccinated. ALSO READ: Covid-19 Vaccinations in Spain
Extreme heat warning
An extreme heat warning has been issued for Monday, when temperatures are predicted to reach 43 degrees in some parts of the region. Some inland areas will also experience high temperatures during Sunday. The front of hot air which has come from the Sahara, carrying sand particles, has been moving north eastwards across the country over the weekend and will reach Valencia tomorrow, according to AEMET.
11/07 12:01 #AEMET #FMA nivel naranja por temp. max para mañana en Andalucía, Baleares, C. Valenciana, Canarias y Reg. Murcia . Imagen en vigor a las 12:01 (tabla actualizada haciendo CLIC EN LA IMAGEN), o visite https://t.co/3ce1BF7jDj https://t.co/VwhVz91vMT
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) July 11, 2021
Other infections drop
There has been a massive drop in cases of measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox in under 16s according to the Valencia health department. The use of face masks, hand gel, ventilation of classrooms and social distancing have all helped in the decline.
This school year there have been just eight cases of mumps, compared to 26 in the 2018-19 school year, while there have been no cases at all of measles and rubella compared to seven cases of measles in the 2018-19 school year and no cases of rubella. Cases of chickenpox fell by 88%, with 671 cases diagnosed during the school year which finished two weeks ago, compared to 5,503 cases in 2018-19, the last pre-pandemic academic year.
There have also been no large infestations of head lice this year, due largely to the 1.5m of distance between desks, although there have still been cases in some schools, while in others they have disappeared completely.
Whale comes to Club Nautico
An 18-metre whale lost its way on Wednesday and gave sailors and visitors to Valencia’s Club Nautico rather a surprise when it got stuck inside the marina area.
Thanks to help from the expert team of the NGO Xaloc, the whale was guided safely back to sea. Watch the video shared by Valencia Plaza here:
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