Spain takes aim at nightclubs and beaches as virus rebounds

Nightclubs, bars and beaches — some of Spain's most beloved summer venues — are facing new lockdown restrictions after turning into coronavirus hot spots.

The northeast region of Catalonia now hosts two of the most worrying virus hotspots in Spain, prompting authorities in Barcelona and an interior agricultural area around Lleida to tighten restrictions that were relaxed only a month ago when Spain had its devastating outbreak in check.

France, meanwhile, is recommending that travelers ditch plans to spend their summer vacations in Barcelona and its nearby beaches, which have seen crowds too massive to allow for social distancing. Police had to step in and take measures to reduce the number of beach-goers.

A Spanish flag waves as bathers enjoy the beach in Barbate, Cadiz province, south of Spain, on Saturday, July 25, 2020. Ministers are set to remove Spain from the Government's list of safe countries to travel to after the European country saw a rise in Covid-19 cases. The decision means those coming back from Spain will have to self-isolate for two weeks upon their return to England. (AP PhotoEmilio Morenatti)

Catalonia ordered all nightlife venues to close for 15 days and applied a midnight curfew on bars in and around Barcelona and Lleida late Friday, hours after French Prime Minister Jean Castex urged French citizens not to visit Catalonia due to the upticks in new infections.

France is also struggling to stop a spike in new cases but it apparently sees a risk in importing new infections from Spain as well.

“We know these measures are tough,” said Catalonia public health chief Josep Maria Argimon. “But we have to ask for the maximum collaboration of our citizens so they don’t last any longer than they have to. If we see that the growth of contagion is exponential, then the only way to stop it is to limit free movement.”

A woman wearing a face mask walks at the beach in Zahara de los Atunes, Cadiz province, south of Spain, on Saturday, July 25, 2020. Ministers are set to remove Spain from the Government's list of safe countries to travel to after the European country saw a rise in Covid-19 cases. The decision means those coming back from Spain will have to self-isolate for two weeks upon their return to England. (AP PhotoEmilio Morenatti)

Local mayors said the shutdown should have been ordered days earlier.

“The measures have arrived late, but they have now been taken and myself and my fellow mayors feel that they are the correct measures to take,” Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau said Saturday before asking for Catalan regional police to help her municipal police enforce the curfew and closures.

Spain reported over 900 new daily infections on Thursday and Friday as authorities warned that the country which lost at least 28,400 lives before getting its outbreak under control could be facing the start of a second major onslaught.

A waiter wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus works in a discotheque in Madrid, Spain, early Saturday, July 25, 2020. Nightlife is becoming the new target of Spanish authorities attempting to contain a spike in coronavirus infections since the country ended a lockdown. The Catalonia regional government has shut nightlife venues in Barcelona, and on Friday officials in Madrid said they were considering a similar step. (AP PhotoManu Fernandez)

National health authorities warned that Spain already could be heading for a “second wave” of the virus that experts had forecast would come during the colder months.

Catalonia’s regional government, run by separatists who had complained about Spain’s centralization of the health crisis from March to June, are struggling to maintain tabs on the growing clusters that have overwhelmed undermanned contract tracing teams.

Over 12% of Spain’s economy is based on its huge tourism industry. Its government, unions and industry leaders are heavily invested in promoting the message that Spain is a safe destination for foreigners to salvage the tourism season.

People wearing face masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus gather in a discotheque in Madrid, Spain, early Saturday, July 25, 2020. Nightlife is becoming the new target of Spanish authorities attempting to contain a spike in coronavirus infections since the country ended a lockdown. The Catalonia regional government has shut nightlife venues in Barcelona, and on Friday officials in Madrid said they were considering a similar step. (AP PhotoManu Fernandez)

That now looks more and more like wishful thinking, meaning the economic blow heading Spain’s way will likely be greater than the deep recession already forecast.

“We have seen a wave of cancellations above all by foreign clients from France, Germany and England who were supposed to come next week, above all to Barcelona,” David Riba, president of the Federatur tourist apartments group, told Catalan broadcaster TV3.

While the families and the at-risk elderly are mostly complying with rules to wear face masks and maintain a 1.5-meter (5-foot) distance from others, teenagers and young adults in many of Spain’s cities have been completely flouting the health rules and guidelines.

A DJ performs in a discotheque in Madrid, Spain, early Saturday, July 25, 2020. Nightlife is becoming the new target of Spanish authorities attempting to contain a spike in coronavirus infections since the country ended a lockdown. The Catalonia regional government has shut nightlife venues in Barcelona, and on Friday officials in Madrid said they were considering a similar step. (AP PhotoManu Fernandez)

With Spain’s 19 regional governments back in charge of their health care systems, there's been a variety of responses to the revival of the virus.

But one shared initiative is to stop the rise of cases related to nightclubs and bars, which are supposed to applying social distancing and face mask regulations inside their venues. Many regions have reduced the occupancy of nightclubs and some have ordered clubs to put tables on the dance floors to discourage dancers from close contact.

Recent outbreaks have been linked to a discotheque in the southern city of Cordoba and to bars in Murcia, in the southeast.

People wearing face masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus gather in a discotheque in Madrid, Spain, early Saturday, July 25, 2020. Nightlife is becoming the new target of Spanish authorities attempting to contain a spike in coronavirus infections since the country ended a lockdown. The Catalonia regional government has shut nightlife venues in Barcelona, and on Friday officials in Madrid said they were considering a similar step. (AP PhotoManu Fernandez)

In Pamplona, authorities have tested 1,000 residents aged 17 to 28 after monitoring an outbreak associated with young people socializing in a neighborhood that has since been put under medical surveillance. Officials in Madrid are considering similar restrictions.

Young people are not the only ones unhappy with the moves. Two business associations for nightclubs and bars say they will take the Catalan government to court to block a decision they say puts 35,000 jobs at risk.

Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

People gather at a public square at night in Gracia neighborhood, Barcelona, Spain, Friday, July 24, 2020. Health authorities in the northeastern region of Catalonia have ordered nightclubs to be fully closed and bars and restaurant in Barcelona to shut down by midnight in an effort to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. (AP PhotoFelipe Dana)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)