MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th July, 2020) Catalan leader Quim Torra warned on Monday that the next few days will show if a collective effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus could still avert tougher restrictions on public life.
"The situation is critical and if we cannot stop it we will have to roll [the reopening] back," he said in a televised address.
Spain's northeastern region emerged as an epicenter of the viral rebound two weeks ago, soon after the end of a nationwide lockdown in June. Catalonia accounts for almost a fourth of the nation's overall cases.
The Catalan authorities earlier asked residents not to go outside unless absolutely necessary, while people in Barcelona and other worst-hit areas were banned from gathering in groups of more than 10. Bars and restaurants now operate at 50 percent capacity.
