Following yesterdays announcements after the Governing Council meeting in Santa Cruz, the new measures agreed by the government have been decreed and published in today’s Boletin Oficial, BOC nº 2021/083/2194, and will subsequently take affect from today.
The biggest changes are regarding rules for islands in alert Level 3, which is currently Tenerife and Gran Canaria, for the time of the curfew and travel in and out of these islands.
Associations representing the hospitality sector made a request for their opening hours to be extended by an hour, as particularly in the main cities, this can help increase their turnover as it is a very ‘Spanish way of life’ to go out later to eat, so a 10pm curfew, in their opinion, greatly affects them.
After analysis and presentation by the Ministry of Health the request was agreed yesterday and subsequently the curfew time in Level 3 is now extended to 11pm, by which time businesses must be fully closed to the public, and freedom of movement is not permitted until 6am, except for reasons previously decreed.
The BOC also states that all other rules remain in place for bars and restaurants, primarily:
- Interiors remain closed to the public except for use of toilets and to collect takeaway orders.
- Maximum capacity on terraces is 50% with correct spacing.
- Delivery service can continue until midnight.
- Masks MUST be worn by all staff and customers at all times, except when physically consuming food and drinks.
- Table service only, NO bar service.
- Maximum 4 people per table, unless co-habitants.
- Smoking is not allowed on the terraces or other outdoor spaces on the premises.
- It is the responsibility of the business owner/manager/staff to enforce these rules to their customers, with increased fines to the business for non-compliance.
All other measures regarding the mandatory use of masks, social distancing, gatherings, group sizes, use of gyms and sports, remain the same and were reinforced in today’s BOC as a reminder that they all still apply and must be adhered to by all citizens, except for exemptions decreed, e.g. under 6’s with masks.
