BARCELONA (Reuters) – The beaches were packed in Catalonia on Saturday as the beautiful spring weather attracted sun-seekers, despite government warnings to avoid violating COVID-19 restrictions.
In Barcelona, Tarragona and other popular cities along the coast of the northeastern region of Spain, crowds gathered on the beaches, some lacking masks or ignoring social distance.
On a popular beach in the center of Barcelona, dozens of partygoers had danced on Friday, some contravention regulations meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, police said on Saturday.
The impromptu party took place on Barceloneta beach, and the police said they had advised the partygoers that they were violating health regulations.
“Barcelona is the perfect place to party, to drink, but this is a big problem – the police – stop people from having fun”, a British developer who only gave his first name Liam, 32, and who wore a mask, Reuters said.
Elsewhere, police attacked an illegal party at a bar in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, near Barcelona, on Friday and fined 33 people for violating COVID-19 restrictions, Mossos d’Escuadra, the Catalan regional police, posted on Twitter .
Meetings of more than six people in public areas are banned in Catalonia, and criminals can be fined from 300 to 600 euros (from 350 to 700 dollars), police said.
“Our officers advise people in which there are large groups of people to contravene the restrictions and sometimes, if they do not wear masks or take off, they may face fines,” said a spokesman for the Catalan regional police. He did not say whether anyone was fined for the Barceloneta party.
Miquel Samper, the Catalan regional interior minister, told RAC1 on Saturday that people should wear masks if they mix with others on the beach, but did not have to do so if they sunbathe or swim in the sea – guidelines that differ from the law national.
Catalonia is one of several Spanish regions defying a law introduced on Wednesday that requires people to wear masks outdoors, regardless of whether the safety distance of 1.5 meters is respected.
After growing criticism, the Spanish government said the mask law would be revised, but did not say when a revision would take place.
($ 1 = € 0.8502)
Reporting by Graham Keeley Writing by David Holmes