Basque Country becomes 1st Spanish region to bring back COVID restrictions

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – The Basque Country reintroduced fresh restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus on Wednesday, making it the first Spanish region to add new measures in months.

Although Spain still has one of the lowest COVID-19 infection rates in Europe, the number of cases has been creeping up in recent weeks.

In the Basque Country and Navarra, which both border France, over the last two weeks infection rates more than doubled the national average of 88 cases per 100,000.

To curb the spread, the Basque government is canceling or suspending mass events or other gatherings that authorities believe cannot ensure social distancing, or taking other COVID-19 measures in communities with high transmission rates.

Lawmakers are also asking courts to approve a vaccine passport that would be used for people wanting to attend nightclubs or large restaurants.

As COVID-19 cases rise across the country, the regional governments of Navarra, Catalonia and Valencia are also debating implementing or expanding the use of vaccine passports.

In the Basque Country, 80.5% of the entire population is fully vaccinated, a figure slightly higher than the national average of 79%.

Across Spain, most restrictions have been lifted and life has almost returned to normal, although masks are required indoors and still commonly worn on the streets.

Despite the slight increase in cases over the last month, Spain’s COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths remain at near-record lows.

As of Tuesday, doctors are treating 2,164 coronavirus patients in hospitals. Last year at the same time, the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients exceeded 20,000.