- Barceló proposes a de-escalation with caution, emphasising that the closure of the sector has scientific backing.
- The Supreme Court rejects the urgent suspension of the closure of the bars in Valencia
The minister of health proposed a staggered reopening of the hospitality sector, starting with the terraces as they are open spaces.
This is the approach that Ana Barceló presented to the representatives of the catering and leisure employers in a first meeting to analyse and plan the reopening of the sector on 1 March.
It was also agreed to create a working group that will meet again on 23 February with the presence of experts to agree more concrete proposals.
The minister had already said that she is prepared to listen to the sector, but in so doing she warned them about the impossibility of a 100% reopening, saying that it would be managed with great caution “because this is not over.”
Barceló defended the closure of the restaurants and hotels saying that it was “scientifically supported” while confirming that the restrictions introduced in the Community to stop the spread of the pandemic “were not taken at random”.
The president of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, who was speaking at an event in Alicante, said that de-escalation must be “as prudent as possible. ”
He insisted that the measures adopted by the Generalitat “are not about criminalising the sector, but about making it possible to safely overcome the pandemic and be in a position to get back to normality within an “extremely difficult” situation.
Puig was speaking about the Plan Resistir, government aid of more than 400 million euros, to help the sectors most affected by the crisis. He also announced that an additional sum of 8 million euros will be approved on Friday aimed specifically at the leisure sector to alleviate the consequences of having remained without any activity for a good part of the year, due to government restrictions.
