• 14-F. Catalan elections live

  • Covid. Voting in times of pandemic: "The delicate will come at the last minute"

The

Mercado de Sants

closes its doors on Saturday afternoon and does not open until Monday morning.

But this week, Sunday was not a day off for the activity inside this municipal facility, built at the beginning of the 20th century in the popular Barcelona neighborhood.

The modernist-style building, remodeled in 2014, is one of the alternative spaces that in these elections have served as an

electoral college

.

It is not the only case.

In this unprecedented day, six others have also done it:

Concepció, Hostafrancs, Sagrada Família, Sant Antoni, Abaceria and Ninot

.

The usual image of people with bags, cars and shouts today looks substantially different.

People only carry envelopes and identification documents in their hands (and umbrellas on a rainy day, of course).

The ordered queues (no need to ask for the time) and the relative silence prevail over the daily bustle.

Toni

is the first time that he steps on the facilities.

He has lived relatively close for a couple of years, but I had only seen him from outside: "I'm not from markets," he says.

"But not because I don't like them, but because of my work hours."

A different case is that of

Jaume

, who goes weekly on Saturdays to the fish, meat or vegetable stalls.

Yesterday he did too, of course.

Josep

,

Isabel

and

Elena

are in the first of the two polling stations enabled in the access.

The morning bustle has stopped after half past one.

No queues since then.

Until noon, the recommendation called only people from those groups considered "at risk" to vote, but the bulk of voters seem to have also joined.

"237 of 462", they sing at the second table.

They have also passed 50%.

Taking into account that participation will be much lower than in the last elections, they do not believe that many people will arrive.

Especially since the time slot (from 7pm to 8pm) is approaching for people in quarantine, that is, those diagnosed with a positive coronavirus, suspects and close contacts.

The queues have disappeared in the afternoon at the market.

When faced with the forced question of whether they are afraid of the

H hour

, the answer is a blunt "no".

Ironies of fate, Josep works in another market.

The most emblematic of Barcelona, ​​La

Boqueria

.

"How am I going to be afraid if last year, in January and February, we received thousands of tourists and then we did not wear a mask. And I continue to work every day, I go to

Mercabarna

weekly ...", he explains.

Something similar happens to Isabel, an employee of a department store in the center of the city: "My family is a little afraid, but I am not. Now I am in

ERTE

, but until March every day you spoke with dozens and dozens of customers and many of them came from

China

. "

Everything has gone according to plan, they say.

They only have one but: the inevitable cold that comes in when the doors are open less than two meters away: "We took advantage of lunchtime to go find coats and scarves."

"Perhaps in addition to the

PPE they

should have put a blanket on us," they joke.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Covid 19

  • Masks

  • Lockdown

  • Quarantine

  • Catalonia

  • Autonomous elections

  • Catalan Elections

Catalonia Elections 2021Catalonia shields itself to avoid Covid infections during the 14-F votes

Catalonia Elections 2021Debate of the Catalan elections on LaSexta: Schedule, candidates and all the keys

Catalonia Elections 2021 One in four members of polling stations in Catalonia has already asked to be exempted

See links of interest

  • Catalan elections

  • Work calendar

  • Napoli - Juventus

  • Mirandés - Girona

  • Eibar - Real Valladolid

  • Barcelona - Alavés, live

  • Real Madrid - Valencia, live