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Date Published: 15/12/2021

ARCHIVED - Health experts in Spain propose limiting table numbers at Christmas parties

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The proposal recommends that people take an antigen test before attending any Christmas dinners in Spain

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Health experts in Spain propose limiting table numbers at Christmas parties

Another year, another Christmas at the mercy of the coronavirus pandemic. Even though 89.6% of the target population is now fully vaccinated, the number of infections continues to grow and Spain has entered the medium-risk level for Covid (the incidence rate is approaching 400, but hospital pressure remains relatively low).

All this, along with the emergence of the Omicron variant has prompted public health advisers to request two new safety measures for Christmas parties and dinners: tables should be limited to a maximum of 10 non-cohabitants and all guests attending these festive celebrations with friends and co-workers should be required to undertake an antigen test beforehand.

The proposal is part of the Presentation of Alerts and Preparation Response Plans “for the celebration of the Christmas holidays” and focuses mainly on “family reunions and activities with relatives who are not living together, mainly in closed places”, which experts have insisted are hotbeds for infection.

Each autonomous community can of course decide on its own safety measures, but the health experts have called on the central government to take a more coordinated approach. It is recommended that people avoid social gatherings over the festive period if they are displaying any cold or flu symptoms, and the plan has recommended that staff and residents who leave elderly care homes over Christmas be required to take a test on their return.

With regard to parades, processions and religious celebrations, the report asks that the authorities limit them to places where social distancing can be guaranteed.

High-risk communities

Navarra, Aragón, Castilla y León, Catalonia, the Basque Country and La Rioja all have a hospital occupancy rate of more than 15%, and the experts believe additional control measures should be enforced:

Maximum of 10 people from two households should be allowed to meet in private
Christmas parties would be limited to six people per table
Religious celebrations and parades reduced by 50%
Capacity of bars and restaurants reduced by 50%. Closing time at 11pm
Supermarkets close their “non-essential public areas”

Very high risk communities

In the event that any community reaches the very high risk level – a 14-day incidence of more than 500 and hospital occupancy greater than 15% or ICU higher than 25% – the Alerts Report “discourages” company dinners and believes Christmas events should largely be cancelled. In this event, nightclubs and the interior of bars and restaurants would be closed, while family gatherings would be limited to six people.

The proposal has been submitted and will either be reviewed by the Public Health Commission on Thursday December 16 or at a meeting next week.

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