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MADRID, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Spain's San Fermin festival, which
attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world for the
running of the bulls through the streets of Pamplona, has been
cancelled for the second year in a row because of the
coronavirus pandemic, the regional head said on Tuesday.
"An international festival like San Fermin, in which
millions of people come to Navarra, won't be possible," Maria
Chivite said.
The festival, which normally takes place every year in July,
gained international fame from Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel
"The Sun Also Rises".
As well as the morning bull runs and afternoon bullfights,
the fiesta features round-the-clock singing, dancing and
drinking by revellers dressed in white clothes and red
neckscarves.
There are also religious events in honour of the saint.
Last year's cancellation was the first in over four decades.
The last time Pamplona did not celebrate the festival two years
in a row was during the civil war in the 1930s.
In a country where COVID restrictions vary from region to
region, the early cancellation of the festival contrasted with
the Madrid region's more relaxed approach to the pandemic, where
from Friday, groups of up to six will be allowed to gather at
the same table in restaurants, up from four now.
A 10 p.m. curfew might be pushed to midnight in Madrid,
where people are still allowed to eat and drink inside bars and
restaurants. Theatres and museums are open in the city.
On Monday, Spain reported 79,686 new cases since Friday,
slowing from the previous weekend's tally of 93,822 and pushing
the cumulative total above 2.8 million. The death toll rose by
762 to 59,081.
Spain's health ministry will decide this week whether or not
to give AstraZeneca's recently approved COVID-19 vaccine
to elderly people, Health Emergency Chief Fernando Simon told a
news conference on Monday evening.
Several European countries including Germany, Poland and
Austria have restricted the shot to younger people amid a lack
of clinical data on its use in people over 65.
"It is quite possible that in the absence of evidence of
possible side effects or of (the vaccine's) efficacy in these
groups, it will be recommended for younger groups," Simon said.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Nathan Allen
Editing by Ingrid Melander and Angus MacSwan)
