At a press conference at noon, Iñigo Urkullu announced that the Basque Government will not tighten up the measures imposed so far. The decision has been taken in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Fourth Bizi Berri Plan, adopted last Tuesday.

The Plan distinguishes three situations: "Low transmission", with a cumulative incidence rate of fourteen days between 0 and 60 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants; "Moderate transmission", with an incidence rate between 60 and 150 positive cases; and "Stressed transmission", with an incidence rate between 150 and 300. In addition to this information, each situation takes into account the occupation of the ICU and the number of infections of the new variants and those that already had immunity as reference indicators [see details of the Plan here].

Despite the increase in cases in recent weeks, the occupation in the ICU has decreased, so it has been decided not to tighten the measures, since the possibility of delaying the times of the bars in the last days was in the air. In Navarre, bars will be closed from Wednesday at 01:00 a.m. The measures maintained in the CAV are as follows: The bars can remain open until 02:00 hours, the tables of the hotel establishments will not exceed six people, the gastronomic societies will remain open and the sports shows will be spectators.

However, the decree that will enter into force on Thursday will incorporate some new elements. Although the measures are maintained, the decree will add the prohibition of acts such as the blasting of streets and "non-parties" or any other type of agglomeration encounters in general, provided that in such encounters an interpersonal distance of one and a half meters is not maintained, inside and outside people. In addition, the decree allows to advance the closing hours of commercial and cultural hospitality activities and other measures if the situation continues to deteriorate.

Finally, Urkullu has sent a message to society in which he points out that three of the main risk factors condition the current situation. On the one hand, the influence of new variants of the virus. On the other hand, the high incidence of the virus in the young population, the main vaccinated still (the possibility of children between 16 and 29 years of age requesting an appointment for vaccination has been advanced by Friday). And finally, high mobility and high-risk social and holiday interactions. He has therefore stressed the importance of respect for "basic" protection measures. It is recommended to wear the mask at all times, except in outdoor places where there is no one else, and always keep the distance of one and a half meters in meetings between people, and maintain attention and prudence.