Overview
- The renewal keeps the Dec. 10 mask requirement in health and care facilities in force beyond Dec. 24, according to Public Health secretary Esteve Fernández.
- Reported incidence has eased from about 480 to roughly 382 cases per 100,000 in recent days, yet authorities caution the peak could still arrive after Christmas.
- Emergency departments are experiencing heavy demand but continue to operate, with officials describing services as pressured rather than collapsed.
- Roughly 1.3 million people have been vaccinated against flu in Catalonia, about 110,000 more than last season, and vaccination is credited with reducing severe illness.
- This early season is driven by a more transmissible A(H3N2) “K” strain that carries higher risk for older adults, though officials say it is not more virulent.