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ARCHIVED - Covid passport will still be required in elderly residences: Valencia update February 21
The Valencia Government has scrapped restrictions in bars and restaurants but smoking on terraces is still banned
The Covid passport will no longer be a requirement to enter bars, restaurants and other public places from Tuesday February 22, earlier than March 1 as previously stated, but will remain in force in elderly nursing homes as a precaution.
Despite the fact that the pandemic has taken a downward trajectory over the last couple of weeks, the Ministry of Health wants to maintain the anti-Covid measure in elderly residences due to "their greater vulnerability" and because "the virus has still not gone away".
The Valencian President, Ximo Puig, and the regional secretary of Public Health, Isaura Navarro, have today clarified the few restrictions that remain in place for at least another month, following an interdepartmental meeting which was attended virtually by the Minister of Health, Ana Barcelo.
As a result, the mandatory Covid passport will be abolished at hospitals, where the protocols will be relaxed, as well as in the hotel and catering industry, where the distance of one-and-a-half metres between tables and the limit of a maximum of 10 diners per table will also be abolished.
But the ban on smoking on terraces will be maintained for now.
"This represents a greater risk of contagion given that the pandemic has not ended and the fact that inhaling the smoke of others is also detrimental to our health", explained the regional secretary of Public Health.
Puig has stressed that two years after the start of the pandemic "a new era is beginning" in which the "vaccine, mask and common sense" are still in force as "great defences against the pandemic".
Also of interest: Spain prepares its roadmap to normality
And he added that whilst upcoming Easter, Moors and Christians and summer festivities "favour public emotional recovery" from the health crisis, masks must still be worn in crowds, whilst other restrictions are removed.
"We are satisfied with the levels of vaccination, and the Covid passport has helped 91,000 people who had not been immunised to get vaccinated, so for that reason alone it was worth it," said Puig.
Vaccination levels in the Valencia region are above the Spanish average in all age groups, and almost 10 points higher in paediatric vaccination, whilst 96.6% of those over 60 and 94.5% of those over 70 have already had the booster jab.
"This is due to the enormous effort of the 65,894 health professionals in the region and the responsibility shown by society as a whole," added the Valencian president.
You might also like: How to book a Covid vaccine in Spain and How to get a Covid passport in Spain
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