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HEALTH

Catalonia places 200,000 people under coronavirus lockdown

Spain's northeastern Catalonia region on Saturday locked down an area with around 200,000 residents near the town of Lerida following a surge in cases of the new coronavirus.

Published: 4 July 2020 11:51 CEST
Catalonia places 200,000 people under coronavirus lockdown
Barceloneta beach during the coronavirus lockdown. Photo: Pau BARRENA / AFP

The move came as the summer holiday started in Spain and the country began re-admitting foreign visitors from 12 countries outside the European union.

It had already opened its frontiers to people from the EU's visa-free Schengen zone and Britain on June 21.

“We have decided to confine the del Segria zone following data confirming a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections,” Catalonia's regional president Quim Torra told reporters, adding that no one would be allowed to enter or leave the area.

Regional health minister Alba Verges said gatherings of more than 10 people and visits to retirement homes would be banned.

Spain has been one of the countries worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic with 28,385 deaths, Europe's fourth-highest toll after the United Kingdom, Italy and France.

On Friday, it registered 17 virus deaths within 24 hours, its highest daily COVID-19 toll since June 19.

The number of cases now stands at 250,545 in a country of 47 million.

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HEALTH

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

Denmark's government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the point in a pregnancy from which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first big change to Danish abortion law in 50 years.

Published: 3 May 2024 08:06 CEST
Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternative party, last week with the formal announcement made on Monday  

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said in a press release announcing the deal.

The move follows the recommendations of Denmark’s Ethics Council, which in September 2023 proposed raising the term limit, pointing out that Denmark had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Western Europe. 

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Under the deal, the seven parties, together with the Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives, have also entered into an agreement to replace the five regional abortion bodies with a new national abortion board, which will be based in Aarhus. 

From July 1st, 2025, this new board will be able to grant permission for abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy if there are special considerations to take into account. 

The parties have also agreed to grant 15-17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent or permission from the abortion board.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for Digitalization and Equality, said in the press release that this followed logically from the age of sexual consent, which is 15 years old in Denmark. 

“Choosing whether to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope that young women would get the support of their parents. But if there is disagreement, it must ultimately be the young woman’s own decision whether she wants to be a mother,” she said. 

The bill will be tabled in parliament over the coming year with the changes then coming into force on June 1st, 2025.

The right to free abortion was introduced in Denmark in 1973. 

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