Perimeter closures in the province of Alicante have prompted more than half of the local population to remain at home during weekends. The weekend confinement of cities and towns with populations of over 50,000 people now means that journeys on Sundays are just 45% of what they were before the pandemic.
Weekend closures of the main cities in the Alicante province now mean that more than half of the population is staying at home on weekends. This is according to a study carried out by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda through the positioning of mobile phones. Since the new restrictions were implemented in the Valencian Community, more than 50% of the inhabitants of the Alicante province have chosen not to travel at weekends, particularly on Sundays.
The report therefore shows that these latest measures to reduce mobility are working. With a view to trying to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, at the height of the third wave of the pandemic, new mobility restrictions were put in place and closed off towns including Torrevieja and Orihuela from 3pm on Friday until 6am on Monday. On the first Sunday of the new restrictions, 1,012,673 people did not make any significant journey away from home within the Alicante province. According to the Ministry study, the subsequent Sundays saw 974,127 and 949,766 individuals also choosing to stay at home.
The lack of movement is not as evident on Saturdays, but is quite high nonetheless: 881,272 people stayed at home on Saturday January 30, and on subsequent Saturdays the figure hovered at around 850,000. It must be taken into account that a good portion of the trips that were taken at weekends may have been due to work reasons. The study of mobile phone data has shown that the current situation has definitely curtailed common practices such as going away for the weekend or taking a day trip on a Sunday for example.
It is not only the fact that residents of larger municipalities cannot leave. The fact that no one from outside of these cities and large towns can enter also has an impact on local behaviour. The restrictions dictate, for example, that no one can go to Alicante or Benidorm for leisure time at the weekend. Add to this the total closure of the hospitality industry, which can be a decisive factor in choosing to leave the house at the weekend, given that the options for recreation are significantly reduced.
Given the circumstances, it is not surprising that the volume of internal movement within the province during the last few Sundays is less than half of what was before the pandemic. According to the report from the Ministry of Transport, Sunday trips are reduced to 45%. On Saturdays there is a little more traffic, but even so the highest number of trips is recorded at around 51% of the usual average.
During the week, on Monday through to Friday, internal travel within the province of Alicante is at around 75% of what it was a year ago (the week of February 14th to 20th, 2020 was taken as a point of reference for the study). Journeys between provinces are significantly lower – 60% during the week and on weekends, less than 20% of what they were this time last year.