Surge in downloads crashes Catalonia’s new COVID move

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BARCELONA (Reuters) – The Spanish area of Catalonia postponed the introduction of obligatory COVID passes at bars, eating places and gymnasiums on Friday after hundreds of individuals tried to obtain the certificates from a neighborhood authorities web site and crashed the system.

Regional well being chief Josep Maria Argimon stated the requirement would come into drive on Monday as very intense visitors on the web site had prevented many from buying the move on Friday.

Greater than 700,000 passes have been downloaded over the previous 4 days, his division stated.

With a nationwide vaccination price of almost 80%, Spain had been largely spared the newest wave of contagion sweeping Europe that has pushed international locations resembling Germany and Austria to reimpose robust restrictions on journey and socialising.

However as circumstances have ticked up prior to now few weeks, a number of Spanish areas have sought judicial approval to demand proof of vaccination or a destructive take a look at in a spread of conditions resembling at nightclubs, for hospital visits or when eating out.

Barcelona resident Jose Soriano thought he had already downloaded the certificates onto his cell phone and was pissed off when he was unable to entry it.

“We have now tried to get it by way of Meva Salut (the Catalan well being app) but it surely’s collapsed, it would not join or something, it is a catastrophe,” he stated.

Moreover the technical issues, Toni Luque, a waiter at Barcelona’s Laie literary cafe informed Reuters the brand new requirement had caught some clients abruptly.

“There are various individuals who did not even realise this was occurring at the moment,” he stated.

Galicia within the northwest additionally started asking for COVID passes at eating places on Friday whereas Aragon and the Balearic Islands are demanding them for nightclubs.

Spain’s two-week COVID-19 incidence reached 160 circumstances per 100,000 individuals on Thursday, greater than tripling for the reason that begin of November, however the nation is simply reporting about 6,700 a day in contrast with greater than 50,000 in Germany and 40,000 in Britain.

(Reporting by Horaci Garcia and Joan Faus; Writing by Nathan Allen; Enhancing by David Clarke)



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