Cristina Hodgson
BARS, restaurants and nightclubs in Andalucia can stay open later from this Wednesday night (September 1).
Following the meeting held yesterday, Tuesday, with the committee of experts, the Junta has given the green light to extend the opening hours of hospitality and nightlife businesses by one hour.
The extra hour of trading will especially benefit nightlife businesses and comes following an improvement in the coronavirus data recorded over the last few days—the lowest it has been in five months.
The new measures, adopted by the Junta to take the region one step closer to that longed-for normality, are as follows:
- The hospitality sector can now open until 2 am, with the possibility of providing service until 1 am. Similarly, nightlife businesses can extend their opening hours until 3:30 am (with the end of service at 3 am). Ice cream parlours, as bars and restaurants, will be able to open until 2 am.
- Indoor celebrations: For indoor civil and religious ceremonies, the capacity will increase to 250 people on level 1 alert and 200 on level 2 alert. (Up from a previous maximum of 150 people).
- The capacity for congresses and conferences has been raised to 1,000 people inside on level 1 and 800 on level 2.
- Wakes and funerals: Wakes will be able to hold 40 people outdoors on level 1, while 70 people will be permitted at funeral processions and funerals.
- Recreational establishments, theme parks, water parks and fairground attractions will have extended opening hours until 2 am.
- Bullfighting shows will also gradually increase their capacity. Level 1 alert areas will be permitted 75% capacity, level 2 areas will be permitted 60% and level 3 areas will be allowed 40% capacity.
The only thing that remains, at least for the moment, unchanged is the capacity for First and Second Division football matches, limited to 40% according to the agreement reached with the central government.
However, Junta chief, Juanma Moreno, has announced that today, Wednesday, he will ask the Interterritorial Council to modify and extend this capacity.
During a press conference following yesterday’s meeting with the committee of experts, Moreno stressed that the fifth wave of the pandemic is ‘in clear decline’ and highlighted the ‘good pace’ of the vaccination campaign in Andalusia, with more than 12 million doses administered.
However, according to Moreno, there are still almost 900,000 Andalucians to be vaccinated and announced that from this Wednesday any resident in Andalucia, over 12 years old, who has not yet received their first jab can go without an appointment to any of the vaccination points for a COVID-19 vaccine.
READ MORE:
- ANALYSIS: Spain set to meet 70% vaccination target but does it really matter?
- Schools in Spain: Start dates, holidays and COVID-19 measures
