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New restrictions from January 7 including a ban on travel outside one's town of residence.

Faced with the ever-present threat of the pandemic, the Catalan government has announced a series of measures in an effort to halt the spread of the virus, including a tightening of restrictions across Catalonia between January 7 and 17.

Authorities have called on people to limit social interactions and to avoid travel beyond their towns or cities of residence, as well as to work from home when possible.

Here is the Catalan News guide to the measures in place.

Measures in force

Bars and restaurants. From December 21 bars and restaurants can only open indoor and outdoor seating areas to the public from 7:30am to 9:30am and from 1pm to 3:30pm.

Establishments can only accommodate 30% of their regular capacity indoors while there are no limits placed on outdoor seating. Inside, only up to four people can sit at each table, except for 6 people on holidays. Everyone must wear a face mask when not eating or drinking.

Take away can be provided from 7pm to 10pm for dinner, with delivery services until 11pm, but dining areas must remain shut. Hotel restaurants, however, are allowed to serve their guests dinner.

In-person dining hours do not apply to bars and restaurants located at highway rest stops, but those inside shopping malls cannot open all.

Mobility. From January 7 people are not allowed to leave their municipality of residence without a justified reason, including work, study, returning home, going to health centers, care of dependent relatives, demonstrating and force majeure. Travel for work is only allowed when remote working is not possible.

Sporting activities can be carried out in surrounding towns.

Curfew. People must remain home between 10pm and 6am except for justifiable reasons.

Gatherings. From January 7 groups of up to six people from two bubbles may meet up.

Closed borders. Catalonia's land borders will remain shut, with exceptions for health emergencies, commuting to and from work or school, and to take care of dependent relatives.

Gyms and sports centers. From January 7 indoor gyms and sports facilities must close. Swimming pools can open to 30% capacity. Outdoor sporting activity is allowed with a maximum of six people.

Stores. From January 7 shopping malls and shops greater than 400 m2 must shut. Smaller shops can open Monday to Friday to 30% capacity. At weekends only essential stores can open. The restriction does not affect vets, hairdressers, beauty salons, gardening services and car dealers, which will be able to open regardless of their size.

Religious ceremonies. Including weddings or funerals, they have a 30% capacity limit with a maximum of 1,000 people, as long as there is sufficient ventilation and access is controlled, otherwise, the capacity remains at 500.

Remote work. Strongly advised by Catalan authorities, which companies should implement unless they are unable to do so.

Public transportation. Including services such as buses, trains, and the subway, it will continue running as usual.

Theatres, cinemas, concert halls. Open at 50% capacity with a maximum cap of 1,000 people, as long as there is sufficient ventilation and access is controlled, otherwise, the capacity remains at 500.

Museums, galleries, and archives. Can open at 50% capacity.

Nightlife. Remains shut.

Amusement parks, bingo parlors, professional fairs. Closed.

Post-obligatory education. Will operate remotely when possible, excluding exams and in-person activities.

Schools. Educational centers, including primary and secondary schools, remain open. The first day of classes after the winter break has been delayed to January 11.

Leisure and after-school activities for children. From January 7 after-school activities may only take place in schools and involving pupils in their usual school groups only.

Public playgrounds. Open until 8pm, to 50% capacity only.

24/7 stores. Must close by 9pm.

Gas stations. Food and beverages can no longer be consumed on-premises, including outdoor terraces.

Community centers. In-person activities are canceled, except for some essential social and educational services.

Parks and gardens. They must be closed by 8pm.

Mixed picture with busy bars in some Barcelona neighborhoods but lack of custom elsewhere.

Across Catalonia on Monday, many premises opened their doors for business again as restrictions eased.

In Barcelona, plazas filled with the sound of conversation and the clink of cutlery as people came out in the weak autumn sunshine to take advantage of the reopened bars, cafes and restaurants.

All in all, 70% of bars and restaurants reopened in the Catalan capital on Monday.

One third of those who remained shut do most of their trade later in the evening, and were put off from opening by the mandatory closing time of 9.30pm, explained industry representative Roger Pallarols.

While in many city neighborhoods staff and customers alike were glad to be back, some establishments in parts of the Old Town who rely more heavily on tourists declined to open.

Meanwhile in the Pyrenees, the freezing temperatures meant sitting outside wasn't an option, prompting the sector to demand a rethink of the 30% cap on customer numbers.

Anselm Angrill, a restaurant owner in the tiny village of Ogern, also explained that it will be very difficult for his business to survive as long as the travel restrictions at weekends remain in place.

Shoppers turned away

Shopping malls remain closed, but that message hadn't got through to the many bargain hunters who turned up at the Fira Shopping Mall in the southern city of Reus on Monday morning.

As security let the eager shoppers down gently, the mall's manager Mayte Forján expressed her unhappiness at the ongoing disparity between high street shops and shopping centers.

"We have worked really hard on all the protocols and possible measures; we are a safe space like any other," Forján said, keen to point out that it wasn't just big chains who had premises in malls, but smaller businesses too.

Challenges remain for movie theaters and gyms

Gyms across Catalonia opened their doors once again, but with capacity limited to 30% indoors, for many, like Ramon Urgell of DIR clubs, "the business is not profitable."

Most cinemas are not expected to take advantage of being allowed to reopen until later in the week, according to Camilo Tarrazón, head of the Association of Catalan Cinemas.

Mondays are generally a quiet day for movie theaters but Tarrazón says several challenges will remain even at weekends. As well as the limits on capacity, there has been a lack of new releases, while he's disappointed that weekend travel restrictions haven't been eased, given that many cinemas he represents "serve more than one municipality."

Change in atmosphere

And will the reopening of bars and restaurants have a positive knock-on effect for high street retailers? Magda Ribot, who owns a clothing store in Tarragona, says she noticed a big change in the atmosphere on the streets, but no surge in sales yet. "Maybe they are all in the bar," she quipped.

Passengers tell of chaotic scenes at their airports of origin as travel restrictions come into force.

On the first day of Spain requiring negative PCR tests for all passengers entering the country via air or sea, Barcelona airport was quiet with little activity, and many areas of the facility completely shut off from access or use.

The latest figures on activity in Barcelona airport show that 85% fewer passengers came in and out of Catalonia in October compared with the year before, and the lack of life in the transport hub could be clearly felt.

In fact, fewer people managed to walk through the doors of the airport than what would have expected to, as some passengers were left in their countries of origin after not being allowed on to the aeroplane when they didn’t have negative PCR tests to present upon boarding.

A group of people working for an international cruise line that travelled from Milan to Barcelona on the first day the new restrictions were introduced. They explained scenes of chaos as “half the flight was left in Italy,” with security staff not letting them board as they didn’t know about the new regulation.

The group complained about the situation the passengers were left in, stranded in Milan with no help from Spanish authorities and no information shared. They acknowledged they were lucky enough to get their PCR tests from their company, but said that without that option, it would have been more complicated.

Confusion among passengers

Another traveller, a Catalan woman coming from Munich to be with her family following the death of her mother-in-law, also spoke about the poor procedure in place.

She took a PCR test at the airport in Munich the day before travelling, but she mentioned that others were only able to get their test on the day of travelling. She complained about the organisation of the process, which led to another would-be passenger on her flight to discover they were Covid positive in Germany. Naturally, they were then forbidden from making the journey to Catalonia.

Another person, a student-athlete from Castellón, made the journey from Lisbon to Barcelona today. He said it was important to get the timing of the test right, given the strict deadline of having to test negative within 72 hours of the flight. He had no difficulty acquiring the test, as he is tested weekly at his university in the United States.

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