The Spanish capital Madrid will be the only major city in Spain, and one of the few in Europe, to ring in the New Year with a grand celebration.
Berlin, London, Paris and Rome have all canceled their traditional festivals.
Organizers in Madrid have limited celebrations to Puerta del Sol square, in the city centre, to 7,000 people, about 60% of the expected crowd in 2019, before the pandemic hit out. Organizers say attendees will have to wear face coverings and follow social distancing rules.
Madrid is one of the largest cities in Spain that celebrates New Year’s Eve. Barcelona and Valencia have canceled their fireworks displays to keep people at home.
The authorities of six regions in northern Spain have agreed to coordinate the early closure of restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
The press service of the Aragon health department said that six regions —Aragon, Basque Country, Navarra, Asturias, Cantabria and La Rioja — had a lot of movement between them and the authorities.
The restrictions are similar to those implemented last week in Catalonia – an area that includes the city of Barcelona, known for its busy nightlife – where authorities announced the closure of shops non-essential businesses before 1 a.m. They also imposed a curfew from 1am to 6am. in towns with more than 10,000 residents, where the rate of Covid-19 cases is high.
The combined measures put restrictions on nearly 14 million people, about 29% of Spain’s population.
The latest data from the Spanish Ministry of Health, published late on Monday, shows an increase in the Covid-19 infection rate, from 911 cases per 100,000 last Thursday to 1,206 cases per 100,000. .
There have been 214,619 new Covid-19 cases since last Thursday, and officials say the Omicron variant is rapidly gaining popularity in Spain.
