Andalusian government hasn’t ruled out stricter lockdown regulations
By Mas Property
on Tue Nov 03 2020
“If the situation doesn’t improve we’ll have to take more difficult decisions,” said regional president Juanma Moreno on Monday after figures showed a record number of Covid patients in Andalusian hospitals. The Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno, said on Monday that “more difficult” decisions would have to be made in terms of measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, if the figures did not improve, calling for “maximum caution and responsibility”.
His words came after the daily Covid-19 case update from the health authority showed an increase in confirmed cases in the region of 4,406 in 24 hours, and 34 deaths of patients with Covid.
The regional vice-president, Juan Marín, also implied on Monday that the authority has not ruled out the possibility of a new stay-at-home lockdown. “Spain is going in the same direction as other countries and a lockdown could come in the coming days,” he said.
The national Health Minister, Salvador Illa, however, ruled out resorting to a stay-at-home lockdown on Monday and said that he was confident that the current measures in place would be sufficient.
Nevertheless the government is drafting documentation that would allow regional authorities to declare even stricter measures than the current state of alarm allows, including ordering citizens to stay at home.
Currently only the region of Asturias has asked the government to permit a two-week lockdown of this kind.
Current restrictions in Andalucía
In Andalucía, the current restrictions in force include:
- The night curfew between 11pm and 6am in all provinces with bars and restaurants closing at 10.30pm.
- Restricting family and social gatherings to six people.
- The closure of regional borders . No one can enter or leave Andalucía without valid reason.
The closure of municipal borders in all districts in Risk Level 4 (red). This affects 449 towns and villages including: all municipalities in the provinces of Granada, Seville and Jaén; the Córdoba Sur health district; the Jerez-Costa Noroeste and Sierra de Cadiz districts; and La Vega district in Malaga province. La Vega consists of 19 towns and villages in the Antequera area.
International borders with Spain have not closed. Flights are arriving at Malaga Airport as scheduled.
Other restrictionsty, such as capacity of commercial and hospitality establishments, vary according to Risk Level. Currently at Risk Level 3 (amber), are the Costa del Sol, Guadalhorce and Serranía de Ronda districts; and Malaga city and the Axarquía are at Risk Level 2 (yellow).
The number of new Covid-19 cases reported in Malaga on Monday was 338 in 24 hours. In the same period 1,340 cases were confirmed in Seville and 1,089 in Granada, two Andalusian provinces with the highest infections rates.
Source: SUR in English, 2 November 2020.