- Region
- Águilas
- Alhama de Murcia
- Jumilla
- Lorca
- Los Alcázares
- Mazarrón
- San Javier
-
ALL AREAS & TOWNS
- AREAS
- SOUTH WEST
- MAR MENOR
- MURCIA CITY & CENTRAL
- NORTH & NORTH WEST
- TOWNS
- Abanilla
- Abarán
- Aguilas
- Alamillo
- Alcantarilla
- Aledo
- Alhama de Murcia
- Archena
- Balsicas
- Blanca
- Bolnuevo
- Bullas
- Cañadas del Romero
- Cabo de Palos
- Calasparra
- Camping Bolnuevo
- Campo De Ricote
- Camposol
- Canada De La Lena
- Caravaca de la Cruz
- Cartagena
- Cehegin
- Ceuti
- Cieza
- Condado de Alhama
- Corvera
- Costa Cálida
- Cuevas De Almanzora
- Cuevas de Reyllo
- El Carmoli
- El Mojon
- El Molino (Puerto Lumbreras)
- El Pareton / Cantareros
- El Raso
- El Valle Golf Resort
- Fortuna
- Fuente Alamo
- Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
- Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
- Isla Plana
- Islas Menores & Mar de Cristal
- Jumilla
- La Azohia
- La Charca
- La Manga Club
- La Manga del Mar Menor
- La Pinilla
- La Puebla
- La Torre
- La Torre Golf Resort
- La Unión
- Las Palas
- Las Ramblas
- Las Ramblas Golf
- Las Torres de Cotillas
- Leiva
- Librilla
- Lo Pagan
- Lo Santiago
- Lorca
- Lorquí
- Los Alcázares
- Los Balcones
- Los Belones
- Los Canovas
- Los Nietos
- Los Perez (Tallante)
- Los Urrutias
- Los Ventorrillos
- Mar De Cristal
- Mar Menor
- Mar Menor Golf Resort
- Mazarrón
- Mazarrón Country Club
- Molina de Segura
- Moratalla
- Mula
- Murcia City
- Murcia Property
- Pareton
- Peraleja Golf Resort
- Perin
- Pilar de la Horadada
- Pinar de Campoverde
- Pinoso
- Playa Honda
- Playa Honda / Playa Paraíso
- Pliego
- Portmán
- Pozo Estrecho
- Puerto de Mazarrón
- Puerto Lumbreras
- Puntas De Calnegre
- Region of Murcia
- Ricote
- Roda Golf Resort
- Roldan
- Roldan and Lo Ferro
- San Javier
- San Pedro del Pinatar
- Santiago de la Ribera
- Sierra Espuña
- Sucina
- Tallante
- Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
- Torre Pacheco
- Totana
- What's On Weekly Bulletin
- Yecla
- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Alicante Today Andalucia Today
article_detail
Date Published: 29/06/2020
ARCHIVED - Murcia government warns that it will reimpose lockdowns if outbreaks worsen
Regional president warns of drastic measures if the “serious irresponsibilities” continue
The Murcian regional president, Fernando López Miras, has warned of “drastic measures” following the meeting of the regional Covid Monitoring Commission on Monday.
Last week Spain entered the “new normal”, relaxing travel restrictions and permitting free movement within the Spanish mainland.
On Wednesday intermational borders will re-open with agreed partner countries and as the number of flights available to Spain increases, so the number of international tourist arriving in the country is expected to increase substantially.
At the moment there are concerns nationally about the number of “imported” cases and there are currently new outbreaks in 12 of the autonomous regions of Spain. (click to see Monday Covid figures for Spain and a breakdown of where the outbreaks are.)
Although figures in the Murcia region have been low, Murcia is now amongst those twelve regions with a major outbreak which is affecting 32 people in three municipalities: Murcia (El Raal), Beniel and Santomera which has its origins in the return of three Bolivian nationals from their country of origin on 3rd June.
In total there are 150 people in different areas of Spain in quarantine in relation to this flight and this outbreak represents half of the active cases in the Region of Murcia.
At the moment, the only measure adopted is the temporary suspension of the activity of the El Raal company affected by the outbreak, which has nine infected workers and exports frozen fruit and veg (click for further information about the outbreaks in Murcia.)
There is some confusion about the chain of events; the company put out a press release yesterday saying that it was closing voluntarily although the regional Government is now saying it has drafted a closure order, which the Director of the company claims not to have received.
Regardless, the case now has 32 positives.
The Murcia regional president has today said that the situation is "very worrying" and that the regional Government will take "drastic" measures” in the face of the increase in cases and recent outbreaks of coronavirus and will even take the step of confining certain municipalities should he feel it necessary to do so.
It should not be forgotten that the regional Government of Murcia became the first in Spain to issue a confinement order for the coastal municipalities of the Murcia Region back in March when the Covid Pandemic first started to break in Spain, the day before the national Government decided to declare the state of emergency which lead to lockdown.
On Monday the Murcian president said that "the situation is worrying. Too many people have forgotten where we come from and the virus has not disappeared."
"In our environment there are very worrying outbreaks and serious irresponsibilities are being committed in public plazas, streets and beaches where the safety distance is not being respected."
López Miras made it clear that we have gained ground against Covid during the last few months, but "if it comes back it’s going to sink us," he insists and "we run a great risk of going backwards into a confinement that would be hardly bearable for many of our residents to endure and that would force us to backtrack, close many shops and businesses and result in an almost definitive blow to thousands of jobs."
López Miras said, “the desire to regain normal life has made too many people forget where we come from and the reason why we are in this situation" and asked the population "not to allow the serious irresponsibility that we see around us every day" to continue.
The regional president called again for better testing at airports
On Wednesday Spain re-opens its international borders, "a highly anticipated moment for an essential sector for all of us, such as tourism," but "it carries risks." For this reason, he asked the central government for preventive measures through "a plan that guarantees that those who come to Spain do so without risk for them, and for us."
Thus, he demanded "urgently" that PCR tests be carried out at source. “We need to have much greater control over people coming from areas with outbreaks or high incidence; We need precise information on who is coming and how to locate them. ” He also assured that the triple control that the central government has put in place at airports "is clearly insufficient, as demonstrated by the arrival in Spain of three infected people who have spread the disease to 32 in the Region of Murcia."
"I sincerely hope that, as happened at the beginning of the pandemic, the Government of Spain will not be late again," said López Miras, who recalled that "we asked for measures to be taken already then and they allowed very valuable days to pass by before putting them into action. ". "Today I demand that you change these ineffective controls and that, together with the European Union, they increase controls and collaborate with us, providing us with all the information about who is coming into the country," he said.
Although in theory passengers are required to complete documentation on arrival giving contact details, some readers have reported on social media that they were not asked to give these details arriving via Alicante in the last few days. Murcia Corvera airport opens on 1st July.
He asked that it not be forgotten “that 150 people have died in the Region of Murcia” and " that is why we have very drastic approaches on the table " and in response to questions from journalists said that he would not rule out enforcing a return to phase 2 on municipalities where there are outbreaks, and would reconstitute confinement in the affected municipality, reiterating statements made previously.
This was the case last week in the region of Aragón where four comarcas were taken back to phase 2 following a major outbreak. There are now 320 positivies in this outbreak which began in an agricultural processing plant.
Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Murcia region: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/
Contact Murcia Today: Editorial 966 260 896 /
Office 968 018 268