Alex Trelinski
BARS and restaurants can stay open later from this Wednesday night(June 16) in the Murcia region.
The regional Ministry of Health has decided to extend opening hours for hospitality and non-essential businesses until 2.00 am.
The extra hour of trading will especially benefit nightlife businesses.
Hospitality closing time was previously extended from midnight to 1.00 am on June 2.
There are also plans to extend the number of people who can meet socially but who do not live together to ten.
That change, because it affects fundamental rights, has to be ratified by Murcia’s Superior Court and will therefore not come into force until this Friday.
It means that up to ten people will be able to meet on a terrace or a private home, but the indoor hospitality limit of six to a table will be maintained.
The changes continue the Health Ministry policy of introducing relaxations in measures every fortnight which gives it time to assess whether alterations have had a negative impact on the COVID-19 infection rate.
Infections have maintained their downturn despite the de-escalation of measures and hospital admissions are at rates last seen in July 2020.
Murcia has also announced that it has joined other Spanish regions like Andalucia and Valencia in making the new EU COVID health certificate available to residents via downloads.
