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Catalans told to work from home or companies will face penalties

The latest measure to stem the spread of coronavirus by authorities in the northeastern region has been met with confusion.

Published: 27 October 2020 17:19 CET
Catalans told to work from home or companies will face penalties
Workers are told to avoid the rush hour on public transport if possible. Photo: AFPPhoto: AFP

The Catalan regional employment minister on Tuesday said that all businesses must insist employees work from home when possible or risk financial penalties.

Chakir el Homrani explained in an interview with Rac1 that Catalonia’s latest health department rulings in mid-October and on October 25 imply that working by proxy is “compulsory” for both the public and private sectors.

“[Companies failing to implement remote work] can be fined just like bars opening or offering food delivery beyond 10 pm,” said El Homrani.

An order published on Monday by Catalonia’s employment relations committee, which includes representatives from trade unions and business associations, stated “in-person work can happen only when mobility is unavoidable”.

“In the cases where working at a distance is not possible, other measures such as establishing staggered entry and exit, time flexibility or similar rules, so that rush hour on public transport is avoided.”

But the order seemed to provoke confusion even within the Catalan regional government itself.

Meritxell Budó, spokesperson for the Generalitat said on Monday that the exceptional powers granted to the Catalan administration under the terms of the current state of alarm do not allow making work from home compulsory.

While Catalan economy minister Ramon Tremosa told Catalunya Ràdio on Tuesday that the measure was a recommendation rather than an obligation. 

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COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

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People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

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