Costa del Sol crackdown on beaches, bars & nightclubs due to rising Covid cases

BEACHES on the Costa del Sol may be closed again at night and new curfews imposed as Andalusia faces a fifth wave of coronavirus infections and a "rapid increase" in the younger population.

The regional government says a new surge in the Delta variant is threatening to put additional pressure on the local health services, despite the increasing number of people being vaccinated.

New rules will come into force at midnight on July 22 and areas at risk will be looked at on a daily basis.

Capacity limits will be put on pubs, restaurants and nightlife venues, depending on the level of alert.

Andalusia's junta is also looking at a curfew between 2am and 7am in municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants that see more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants cumulatively over 14 days.

This could affect the biggest resort of Marbella which has an incidence rate of 1,047.

The proposed curfew has to be endorsed by the Supreme Court which has turned down other applications elsewhere, including in the Canary Islands.

Health chiefs say beaches should be closed between 11pm and 7am in those coastal municipalities that are at alert levels 2, 3 and 4.

Anyone going to a nightlife venue will have to leave their contact details and occupation levels will be either 75 per cent or 50 per cent depending on the area's coronavirus figures.

In some areas, bar service won't be allowed and in others, people will only be allowed to sit outside.

Where indoor tables are permitted, there may be a four-person cap on inside tables in the worst-case scenarios.

Minister of Health and Families, Jesús Aguirre said there had been a  "rapid rise in the indicator of accumulated incidence with special relevance in the young population."

He added: "The experts have proposed the recommendation that no parties, festivals, pilgrimages or other popular festive activities be held while the current epidemiological situation continues, in the same way that it is not recommended to hold meetings or private parties in those that are grouped more than ten people."

He also stressed the need for the entire population to wear a mask "as a fundamental measure to avoid the spread of the virus."The new measures will be reviewed in two weeks.

Despite the rise in Covid cases, Spain is unlikely to be added to the amber plus list anytime soon, ministers have said.

The Department of Transport (DoT) has told the travel industry that Spain won't be added imminently, with the next update in August, according to the .

They also added that the addition of France was a "one off" travel change.