The head of the regional government of Catalonia, in north-eastern Spain, has called for the Catholic Church to be penalised over a mass that breached coronavirus restrictions.
The gathering in Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Familia basilica was held to commemorate victims of the pandemic on Sunday. Social distancing measures were in place, but the numbers attending exceeded the decreed maximum of ten.
Catalan President Quim Torra said a collective effort was needed to tackle the region’s growing outbreak, which he described as “very worrying”.
Spain’s rate of infection has jumped in recent days. While the outbreak remains under control in many parts, certain areas – in particular Catalonia and the neighbouring region of Aragón – have seen a huge spike in infections.
Local authorities have issued stay-at-home orders for some four million residents in Catalonia, including in the regional capital Barcelona. Earlier today, Mr Torra said even stricter lockdown measures could be imposed if infection numbers did not improve in the next 10 days.
