Date Published: 28/10/2020
ARCHIVED - Murcia Region closes external borders and stops movement between municipalities
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Residents will only be permitted to move between municipalities for essential reasons
The Murcian Regional Government has taken the decisión to confine the Region of Murcia and close not only the external, but also the internal borders of the region.
The decision has been taken due to the rising number of new cases and hospitalisations in the region, the fear being that if cases continue to rise at their current rate (over 900 new cases today), that the hospital infrastructure of the region will be unable to cope with the volume of admissions. Today the number of patients in the hospitals of the region hit 500, with 87 in intensive care, the highest number yet of the pandemic.
There has also been considerable concern about the movement of the national population this coming weekend; All Saints and All Souls is a festivity in which families traditionally travel to their place of birth to honour the deceased and it is normal for hundreds of thousands of journeys to take place this weekend, both within the region and nationally.
For these reasons, the regional Government will close the external borders of the region as well as the borders between municipalities.
This means that residents will not be permitted to travel outside of the municipality in which they habitually reside, to other municipalities, other than for essential reasons.
The final exclusions will be published in the BOE but are expected to include the following which have become standard during this pandemic:
Attendance at medical appointments, health centers, essential services and establishments; the fulfillment of labor, professional, business, institutional or legal obligations; attendance at university, teaching and educational centers, including nursery schools; return to the place of habitual or family residence; assistance and care for the elderly, minors, dependents, people with disabilities or especially vulnerable people; travel to financial and insurance entities or refueling stations in neighboring territories: required or urgent actions before public, judicial or notarial bodies; renewals of permits and official documentation, as well as other administrative procedures that cannot be postponed; taking official exams or tests that cannot be postponed; or cause of force majeure or situation of need.
(During the lockdown there were no problems for those picking up and dropping off at the airports providing documentation could be shown proving there was a valid reason for going to the airport).
THIS IS NOT A LOCKDOWN; RESIDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO MOVE AROUND WITHIN THEIR MUNICIPALITY AND ARE NOT CONFINED TO THEIR HOMES.
The regional president will make an address to the region tonight.
The measures are expected to come into force from Friday and be valid for 14 days from publication in the BORM.(confirmation of the time at which the restrictions begin will be published in the BORM.)
Several regions have already announced the closure of their external borders (Aragón, Asturias, Navarra, La Rioja and the Basque Country ) and a similar move is being considered in others, amongst them Madrid and Catalonia. The Region of Valencia said this afternoon that it would consider closing its own external borders if Catalonia and Madrid did not close theirs to prevent the mass movement of people this weekend.
Andalucía has also said it will close its borders if Madrid doesn´t.
Germany closes bars and restaurants; the German Chancellor has announced the closure of all bars and restaurants, leisure venues and closed sports venues throughout November today.
Italy reported 25,000 new cases and 205 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Portugal reported record cases on Wednesday; 3,960 new cases and 24 deaths.
Greece reported a record number of new cases today; 1547 and 10 deaths.