New COVID-19 cases rise again in Barcelona

The number of new cases is overwhelmingly higher among youngsters between 10 and 29 years of age.

Barcelona:Following weeks of improvement, the number of new COVID-19 infections in the Spanish autonomous region of Catalonia is spiking again.

Barcelona's beaches were crowded with sunbathers and swimmers on Sunday.

One local man spending the afternoon at the beach said people were still maintaining an element of social distance but that he wasn't sure how safe the situation really was.

The number of new cases is overwhelmingly higher among youngsters between 10 and 29 years of age.

As restrictions started to ease nationwide in June, younger crowds went out on the streets at night in downtown Barcelona and other cities to hold "botellones" - outdoors reunions where everybody brings their own drinks to sit and talk in the street.

Student, Andrea Garcia, said many young people were no longer wearing facemasks despite being unvaccinated.

"We are now seeing the number of new cases increasing. And the situation from months ago is repeating itself again. And we hear again of people you know getting infected," she said.

According to official figures, the latest update on Saturday showed 5,379 new cases, leaving the regional total at 726,544.

But the increase in cases hasn't resulted so far in more hospitalisations.

The current figure for hospitalised patients in Catalonia is 473, as opposed to over 1,000 at the beginning of May.

Massive COVID-19 vaccination drives in Barcelona and the wider Catalonia region started in early June, with the vaccination of the 30-39 age group speeding up.

The operation has now seen over three million people fully immunised against COVID-19, almost half the region's population.

AP