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BARCELONA

Life in Barcelona: ‘Residents fear a second lockdown more than a second wave’

Barcelona hasn't returned to a full lockdown but residents have been advised to ‘stay at home’. Barcelona-based journalist Esme Fox explains what life is like as fears persist about a second-wave and yet more restrictions on daily life.

Life in Barcelona: 'Residents fear a second lockdown more than a second wave'
People sit at a terrace bar overlooking the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona on July 25, 2020. AFP

Covid-19 cases in the Metropolitan area of Barcelona, including in the city itself, have been increasing over the last few weeks, causing major concern and a reintroduction of restrictions.

The local Catalan government has advised people not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary and to stay within the city limits in bid to curb the latest outbreaks, however fines cannot be issued for going outside without a valid reason like before, and authorities are appealing to people’s social responsibility. 

Masks have been mandatory in the whole of Catalonia since July 9th, but many people had been wearing them long before that.

The difference now however is that masks must be worn everywhere, even outside where social distancing is possible. The only reasons you can remove them are for eating and drinking, exercising, sunbathing and swimming.

But masks are not the only things that have changed in the city, the lack of tourists is also strongly felt. La Rambla now feels like any other street, you can stand in front of the cathedral and take a picture without any other people and the famous market, La Boqueria, is almost empty. 

Shops, bars and restaurants remain open; however, dining venues have been reduced to 50 percent capacity once again and only meetings of up to 10 people are allowed.

People sit on the stairs of the National Art Museum of Barcelona (MNAC) in Barcelona on July 25, 2020. The Catalan government ordered the closure of all nightclubs, discos and event halls across this region of northeastern Spain following a surge in cases of coronavirus.AFP

On July 18th, all public cultural and sporting venues were closed, meaning that cinemas, gyms, sports facilities and nightclubs had to be shut down again, just little more than a month after they reopened. 

While some restrictions have now loosened, and gyms and cinemas can re-open, nightclubs remain closed. Despite the ‘stay at home’ request from the local government, most locals are ignoring the advice and continue to eat out in bars and restaurants and flock to the beaches.

In the stifling summer heat, these are some of the only places you can escape outdoors and not have to wear a mask.

Beach capacity in the city has recently been reduced by 15 percent, and on weekends people are often turned away when it’s too full or are required to queue until others leave. 

As of July 29th, even more restrictions have been brought into place. There is also now also a two-week ban on drinking alcohol in public places, which in Spain is known as ‘botellón’.

This means no more drinking on the beaches or in the parks. Many of the new outbreaks in the region have stemmed from parties and social gatherings and authorities are hoping this new ban will help to curb new infections. Fines ranging from 3,001 to 15,000 Euros can be issued to anyone breaking the rules. 

People sit at a terrace bar overlooking the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona on July 25, 2020. AFP.

On Monday, July 27th, Quim Torra, president of Catalonia asked citizens to act with ‘responsibility’ in order to avoid a more extreme lockdown. 

“The 10 most important days of the summer lie ahead of us now”, he said. We have 10 days to see if, with a renewed collective effort, we can start turning things around. Because if we don’t, we’ll have to take a step backwards”. 

While locals don’t seem to have followed his advice so far, without as many tourists in the city, social distancing is easier – bars and restaurants in the centre are not so crowded and there’s space on the beach during weekdays.

People here fear the virus, but there seems to be an even greater fear of a second lockdown. Across Spain, people were confined to their homes, not even being allowed out for a walk in more two months, and most people are terrified of having to go through that again.

It seems that most people just want to able to enjoy the outdoors as much as they can, in case a new mandatory lockdown is put in place. 

Recent figures released on July 30th, however, do suggest that the spread of the virus in Barcelona is slowing down and that the restrictions and social distancing measures may just be working. Even so, locals can’t let their guard down just yet. 


 

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TOURISM

Barcelona to get rid of all tourist rental flats ‘by 2028’

The mayor of Barcelona announced on Friday that the city will bring an end to 10,000 tourist flats by 2028 simply by not renewing licences.

Barcelona to get rid of all tourist rental flats 'by 2028'

Barcelona city council has pledged to ‘eliminate’ the more than 10,000 tourist flats in the Catalan capital.

Jaume Collboni, the city’s Socialist mayor, made the announcement during a press conference on Friday afternoon. 

The plan is to rid the city of all the tourist flats by November 2028 by not renewing any of the 10,101 licences in the city.

READ ALSO: ‘It kills the city’: Barcelona’s youth protest against mass tourism

They will instead be used for residential properties, applying a decree law approved by the Generalitat which regulates tourist housing.

“We’ve decided to go all out to convert them into residential housing,” Collboni said.

Collboni argued that the measure is a response to the growing difficulty of accessing affordable housing in Barcelona, where supply is scarce and rental prices have surpassed €1,100 per month on average.

According to figures cited during the press conference, the price of housing has increased by 68 percent in Barcelona in the last 10 years, while sales by just 38 percent. “The least that can be done is to think about how to provide more public and private housing. That means ‘more supply, more supply, more supply’,” Collboni said.

“The city has 10,000 tourist flats and we want to convert them into residential,” he added. “By November 2028, we want these 10,000 tourist flats to become residential. From 2029, the tourist flat as we know it today will disappear in Barcelona.”

Discontent among locals about the proliferation of short-term tourist rental flats has grown in the Catalan city in recent years. But it is not only in Barcelona. The sentiment has spread across the country in recent years, particularly in the post-pandemic period.

Protests have already been held in the Canary and Balearic Islands as well as Madrid and Barcelona, and demonstrations are planned in Málaga at the end of June.

READ ALSO: ‘It’s become unliveable’: Spain’s Málaga plans protests against mass tourism

A combination of dwindling rental market supply and rising prices, worsened by the rise in post-pandemic remote working, has meant that in many Spanish cities digital nomads and tourists dominate the city centres and price locals out of their own neighbourhoods.

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