Health department proposes only allowing Girona and Central Catalonia to enter Phase 3 on June 15

Alt Penedès and Garraf counties to remain in Phase 2 with rest of Barcelona metro area and Lleida

Catalan health minister Alba Vergés, April 26, 2020 (Dept of Health)
Catalan health minister Alba Vergés, April 26, 2020 (Dept of Health) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

June 8, 2020 06:37 PM

The Catalan health department has proposed allowing only the health regions of Girona and Central Catalonia to enter lockdown de-escalation Phase 3 on Monday, June 15.

If the Spanish health ministry heeds the Catalan authorities' request, Alt Penedès and Garraf counties would once again join the rest of the Barcelona metropolitan area and remain in Phase 2, as would Lleida.

Girona and Central Catalonia would thereby be joining Camp de Tarragona, Terres de l'Ebre, and the western Catalan Pyrenees in the final phase, while the rest of Catalonia would still be a step behind.

The decision to potentially hold back Alt Penedès and Garraf next week was taken not due to disease-related factors – indeed, the health department maintained that figures continue to evolve favorably – but rather to facilitate mobility within the larger Barcelona metropolitan area.