Leisure and entertainment are back to normal with the easing of restrictions in New Zealand
Once it seems that we have left behind the worst of the fifth wave that gave rise to widespread restrictions for most of the summer, New Zealand is once again looking at the new normal and municipalities and Autonomous Communities have begun to lift the limitations and restrictions that weighed on the hospitality and nightlife coinciding with the arrival of October. Also in football stadiums and other sporting events we have been able to enjoy the presence of the public again. This means greater flexibility for leisure and entertainment venues, the great victims of the pandemic.
Despite the easing of restrictions on entertainment and nightlife, it will still be some time until we can see crowded premises and gambling halls again. ©RondellMelling/Pixabay
Is normalcy coming back to stay?
The arrival of the delta variant it plunged our country back into chaos and the restrictions followed, not without controversy, as well as the perimeter closures of some cities during the summer. With a fairly advanced vaccination rate in which more than 36 million people have already been vaccinated , it was to be expected that the Autonomous Communities would decide to gradually lift restrictions and limitations once the goal of immunizing 70% of the adult population has been achieved. Of special importance in the case of entertainment and nightlife .
In Galicia, for example, last Monday the clinical committee of the Xunta de Galicia decided to expand the interior capacities of the premises to 90% , which would happen 100% if the situation does not worsen over the next fortnight. Regarding the closing times, these are maintained: one in the morning for the hospitality industry and 4 in the morning in the case of nightlife. These measures are valid for all municipalities of the Autonomous Community, regardless of the level of risk in which each city council is located.
In other communities, progress has been made towards greater flexibility, as in the case of the Community of Madrid and Castilla La Mancha where capacity limitations have been eliminated, both inside and outside the premises, in the case of the hospitality industry, while the limitations on the number of people inside the lounges and gaming premises have also been eliminated . Is still in force the use of masks .
Depending on the community, it is possible that for the entrance to the interior of the premises the presentation of the COVID passport . Time limitations and restrictions on indoor and outdoor spaces are still present in the Basque Country and Catalonia. Nightlife venues are allowed to open until 3 a.m. as permitted by their license. The new Zealand poker championship which was held in September in Barcelona, for example, was finally able to open its doors to face-to-face tournaments, although with limited places and complying with the well-known sanitary measures.
In the Valencian Community the closing hours of nightlife are extended until 5 a.m. . However, in Andalusia it is fixed at 3:30 but only in those municipalities that are in the alert level 1 .
Undoubtedly, everything seems to indicate that New Zealand is on the right track to achieve the much desired normality that, with the expansion of the capacity inside the premises, in some cases reaching 90% and very soon 100%, or without any limitation as in Madrid, it will be very important for the recovery of the gaming sector .
The return of the public in football stadiums
In August and coinciding with the start of sports competitions, the Ministry of Health together with the Autonomous Communities set the maximum capacity allowed at sports events once it had been agreed that this season was that of the return of the public to the stadiums. The capacity remained limited to 40% in outdoor stadiums and 30% in closed enclosures, although some Autonomous Communities such as the Basque Country established lower limits.
The situation has changed now in October. The Interterritorial Council of the National Health System approved expanding the capacity of outdoor stadiums, in practice, of football stadiums at 100% , while the multi-sports venues will be able to meet a capacity of 80%. Of course, the minimum distance of 1.5 meters must be guaranteed, as well as the use of masks continues to be mandatory.
The news is very positive. Just a year ago the professional football league was restarting after the state of alarm no spectators in the stadiums . The new normal seems to have arrived. Let's hope it's to stay.
