Fears of fourth Covid wave mount as Catalonia enters Easter holiday period

Catalonia has entered the Easter holiday period amid fears that the expected increase in mobility and social interactions could lead to a new spike in coronavirus contagion.

With some European countries battling the third wave of the pandemic, Catalonia’s main tourist destinations expect mostly local visitors, who are allowed to travel with members of their social bubble.

From Thursday afternoon to Friday at 9 am, 206,256 vehicles left the Barcelona metropolitan area, in what is often called the ‘operació sortida’ — namely, the mass exit of cars at the onset of a holiday period.