Barcelona bar workers protest against ‘shameful’ coronavirus restrictions

More than 1,000 protesters took to the streets of Barcelona on Friday to protest against a new round of lockdown restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

The protesters, most of whom were hospitality workers, filed into Barcelona’s Old City to protest against a new, 15-day shutdown of bars and restaurants ordered by the Catalan regional government. The restriction measures in Barcelona also force capacity limits on shops and gyms in the city.

David Polo, a protester who owns a restaurant on the Iberian Peninsula, compared the new round of restrictions to a “final slaughter” for many businesses in the region.

“After all we’ve had to endure over the past months, this really is the final slaughter,” Polo said.

The decision follows similar measures taken by the Spanish government following a sharp rise in positive tests for COVID-19 among residents of the western European country. More than 22,000 cases of the coronavirus have been diagnosed in the region where Barcelona resides.

“It’s shameful,” Polo said. “The people in charge do whatever they want, and us business owners have to foot the bill.”

Protesters carried an assortment of signs, including one that read, “Young people have a right to work.”

Earlier this week, Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa warned that he does not expect the situation in the country to improve in the coming weeks.

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