Murcia Today Weekly Bulletin 10th July

This week the numbers of new Covid cases being recorded in Spain and the numbers of outbreaks have started to unsettle our regional governments. On Saturday Catalonia (Cataluña) announced the confinement of 207,000 people, a move followed on Monday by Galicia, who confined 70,000. During the week it has become mandatory to wear masks in all of Cataluña, Extremadura, the Balearic Islands and parts of the Basque Country and other areas are considering their options, including Murcia.Great efforts are being made to isolate and lock down specific areas and even buildings, where outbreaks are detected rather than locking down whole regions or even the country.

At the moment there is no need to panic, but keep an eye on the website and should there be any developments we will of course, let you know. We will directly email those of you who have subscribed to our service should there be a major development relating to the Murcia Region. For the moment, the figures in Murcia are still very low, the sun is shining and life is back very much to something approaching normal for most of us living here.

Covid Spain

Monday : 78 new cases

Tuesday: 124 new cases, 4 deaths

Wednesday: 257 new cases; 4 deaths

Thursday: 241 new cases, five deaths. Click for info

On Thursday the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa confirmed that there are now 73 outbreaks of Covid-19 in Spain, those of the  greatest concern being Segrià in Lleida (Cataluña) and A Mariña, in Lugo (Galicia); both of which have resumed confinements. Salvador Illa admitted that the outbreak situation is worrying: "We have had 118 outbreaks and 67 are still active, " he said. We have prepared a detailed breakdown of where these 73 cases are. Click to read this article
15 of the 17 autonomous communities have registered outbreaks to some degree, and some administrations have had to implement specific measures to try to contain the outbreaks. This is the case in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Extremadura and the Basque Country, where the wearing of a mask at all times in public is now mandatory (apart from obvious exceptions such as swimming, sunbathing and eating).

On Thursday Belgium announced that it would be imposing a 14 day quarantine on anyone entering the country from Lleida(Cataluña) and A Mariña(Lugo) in Galicia
 

Friday:

On Friday the Spanish Ministry of Health announced a huge rise in the number of new cases during the last 24 hours, the figure of 333 the highest recorded since the 22nd May when Spain had just started its de-escalation process.

The majority of the cases are mainly centred in Cataluña (+81), Aragón (68), Andalucía (32) and Madrid (30), with other areas as follows; Navarra (26); Extremadura (25); Galicia (20); Comunidad Valenciana (17); Castilla-La Mancha (13); Basque Country (11); Castilla y León (4); Murcia (3); Asturias (1); Canarias (1) and La Rioja (1), bringing the national total to date up to 253.908 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

Total cases to date: Andalucía 13.386; Aragón 6.632; Asturias 2.437; Balearic Islands 2.249; Canary Islands 2.450; Cantabria 2.369; Castilla-La Mancha 18.343; Castilla y León 19.787; Cataluña 63.888; Ceuta 163; Comunidad Valenciana 11.740; Extremadura 3.106; Galicia 9.431; Madrid 72.532; Melilla 126; Murcia 1.726; Navarra 5.523; Basque Country 13.939 and La Rioja 4.081.

The total number of deaths has risen by two in the last 24 hours, with 10 deaths recorded in the last 7 days, bringing the total deaths by Covid-19 in Spain to 28,403.

The situation in Catalonia(see below for summary) which locked down 200,000 residents on Saturday in Segriá has worsened in recent hours. The Generalitat has recorded 338 new positive cases in the Lleida health area, which is where the majority of new cases are focused. In total, Catalonia has 20 active outbreaks: 15 in Lleida, three in Tarragona, two in the Upper Pyrenees and Aran area and another registered in an agrifood company in Avinyó (Barcelona)

The latest outbreak to appear in Lleida has forced the quarantine of fifty police agents from the Mossos d'Esquadra. On Wednesday one person died in Segrià.

Galicia (Lugo lockdown)
The Xunta de Galicia has announced an increased confinement in Burela, with no movement permitted for the next five days. The residents of Viveiro, Xove, Cervo, Foz, Barreiros and Ribadeo are only permitted to move within their own municipalities.

In seven other municipalities the lockdown restrictions have been removed.

There are now 182 cases in the A Mariña outbreak in Lugo, of which the majority are asymptomatic or are mild cases, those concerned must stay in quarantine. Four more cases have been detected in Beariz, which is considered an outbreak.

The Xunta has said that no-one with symptoms or a positive diagnosis is permitted to vote in the Sunday elections in the region.

The Basque Country regional Government has also announced that Covid positives and those in quarantine will not be allowed to vote in the regional elections there either, which are also being held on Sunday.

BOAT IN ALGECIRAS IMMOBILISED DUE TO COVID CASE The Singapore registered oil tanker from New Orleans 'Bow Elm', has been immobilised in the port of Algeciras (Cádiz), as there are suspicions that one of the crew members has been infected by the Covid-19 virus.

Covid Murcia:

Monday: 79 active cases, 66 in isolation, 13 hospitalised, 2 in intensive care

On Monday after notice was received about lockdowns in Catalonia and Galicia the Murcian regional government said that paperwork was ready to issue a confinement order.
Regional Minister of Health Manuel Villegas, said that "there are no magic figures that tell us when to do it", as confinement can apply to a single building (as was the case last week when an apartment block was isolated and locked down in Albacete) or an entire city and the number of infections, the speed and the transmission of the virus will all be factors which influence how and when that decision is made.
He made it clear that the regional government has prepared the necessary legal documents in case a confinement becomes necessary within the Region and this can be implemented in a matter of hours should the regional government consider it necessary to do so.
Last Monday the regional president made it absolutely clear that he would not hesitate to take whatever measures were necessary to protect the population of the region from “irresponsible behaviour”.
 

Tuesday: 74 active cases

Wednesday: 69 active cases

Thursday: 76 active cases, 58 are in domestic isolation, 18 in hospital and 3 in intensive care.

MURCIA CONSIDERING THE MANDATORY WEARING OF A MASK AT ALL TIMES.
The Ministry of Health of Murcia is considering the possibility of introducing the obligation to wear a mask at all times in outdoor spaces, just as the Generalitat of Catalonia, Government of the Balearic Island, Extremadura and Basque Country Governments have done, according to regional minister, Manuel Villegas.
Following a meeting of the regional cabinet on Thursday, he said that it was “on the table and regional technicians would be considering it."

14 out of the 45 municipalities in the region of Murcia have active cases of Covid-19.There have been 59 cases of Covid-19 declared by the regional health authority within the last 14 days, located as follows:
Águilas 3; Los Alcázares 1; Archena 1; Beniel 3;Cartagena 9; Fortuna 3; Lorca 4; Molina de Segura 1; Moratalla1; Murcia 21; san Pedro del Pinatar 1; Santomera 6; Torre Pacheco 4; Totana 1
 

Friday: 79 active cases, 61 in home isolation, 18 in hospital, 2 in intensive care, 151 dead (has not changed all week). The principal source of these cases is the outbreak related to three Bolivian nationals who landed at Barajas airport in Madrid on June 3rd and later developed Covid symptoms. Due to the contacts they made there are now 54 cases directly relating to this one outbreak and one dead. 13 of the positives work at the Fruveco frozen foods plant in El Raal which is currently closed. The regional health service said on Friday that it would be testing all 150 residents of the Moratalla pedanía in which the resident had died using swab tests after six residents tested positive. There are three positive cases in both Torre Pacheco and Cartagena in minor outbreaks which are now controlled.

Only 1.6 per cent of Murcians have Covid antibodies; the lowest level on mainland Spain
The Region of Murcia has the second lowest seroprevalence in Spain,and the lowest on the mainland
The idea of being able to gain herd immunity against the Covid virus in Spain is gradually being shown to be unrealistic following a three part study run by the National Center for Epidemiology and Carlos III Health Institute which began on April 27th and was analysed in three stages.
However, it has given researchers an interesting insight into the percentage of the population to have contracted Covid-19 during the pandemic as well as revealing that antibodies appear to remain in the blood for a relatively short period of time in many cases.
On Monday Dr. Marina Pollán, director of the National Center for Epidemiology in Spain, presented the study data which confirms that only 5.2% of the Spanish population has developed antibodies against the covid virus, the same result as in the second study carried out before the state of emergency concluded.
Doubts about the duration of immunity against the coronavirus persist and have in fact increased after data from the third round of the seroprevalence study carried out by the Ministry of Health was processed, indicating that 14.4% of the cases that tested positive in the first round no longer had detectable antibodies six weeks later.
The full article contains a link to the original scientific document which gives a huge amount of detail about the topic and is actually very interesting. Click for the link

Masks and lockdowns

As the week wore on the topic of masks became an important one yet again, as regional governments began to enforce local lockdowns and tighten restrictions due to the number of new outbreaks.

It all started on Saturday when the regional government of Catalonia, the Generalitat, announced that it would be confining the 200,000 inhabitants of the Lleida comarca of Segrià, which encompasses 38 municipalities, including the provincial capital of Lleida.This area lies within the southern part of the province, and covers approximately 1,400 square kilometres, bordering with Huesca ( Aragón) and Zaragoza provinces, both of which have also reported high numbers of cases in the last two weeks.

Scotland leaves Spain off its list of safe destinations. Although the decision will reportedly be reviewed on the 20th July, Scotland has provisionally decided NOT to include Spain in its list of safe destinations. As a result, anyone returning to Scotland from Spain will still have to quarantine for 14 days, a blow to the airlines which have already confirmed Spanish routes this summer.Click for info

Illegal Migrants

The topic of illegal immigration has dominated the headlines in the Region this week, a number of incidents all weaving together:

The problem of irregular migration continues to occupy the headlines this week, exacerbated by the arrival on Tuesday of a further 70 Algerians, all seeking to enter Spain illegally by sea in small boats (pateras).
Due to the Covid crisis it is now standard practice to test all of the immigrants intercepted using the PCR swab test method and five of the new arrivals gave positive Covid results during the week.
Last week there was considerable dis-satisfaction amongst the local population following the arrival of 108 irregular migrants, 8 of whom tested positive, when the Cruz Roja used properties they owned or had access to, in the middle of residential areas in which to quarantine them.
This is because the migrant transit centre which is normally used to house illegal migrants during the 45 day period in which the Spanish Government tries to repatriate them to their country of origin, is temporarily closed. This in turn, is due to the Algerian and Moroccan borders being closed, making the repatriation of these migrants impossible. (click to read the report written last week if you are unfamiliar with this topic)
Residents in both Los Alcázares (Los Nietos specifically) and residential districts of Murcia city made their feelings of discomfort uncomfortably clear, concerned that should the migrants prove to be Covid-positive, then the virus could be transmitted to the local community should they escape.
Those fears were born out on Thursday when a young Covid-positive nearly succeeded in escaping from Lorca hospital; on Friday when a Covid-positive migrant escaped from the Santa Lucía hospital in Cartagena and was intercepted in the car park outside and on Sunday when a Covid -positive migrant climbed out of the 4th floor room of the same hospital in which he was being monitored using his bed sheets at 3am in the morning and disappeared into Cartagena for several hours before being re-captured.
Illegal immigration and the detention of illegal migrants is an area of responsibility covered by the national government, and their representative here in the Murcia region is José Veléz, formerly Mayor of Calasparra, who met with representatives of the Murcian regional Government on Friday to discuss the situation after a fairly tense week of exchanges between the two parties.
It was finally agreed that the regional government would provide more suitable accommodation which could be monitored by the Policia Nacional and on Monday it was announced that the El Valle albergue in the regional park just outside Murcia City had been selected for the quarantines and the migrants currently under quarantine had been moved there.
The albergue is normally used for school groups as a base from which to undertake educational activities and has suitable facilities for containing a group of people overnight as well as being well away from residential areas.
On Monday four Covid positives (including the would-be escapees) were removed from the Santa Lucía hospital in Cartagena and taken to a smaller hospital in Lorca where vigilance could be improved, much to the disgust of the local council there who were not informed in advance of the change and protested publicly about the situation.
Fortunately the albergue is spacious as on Tuesday another 70 illegal migrants arrived by sea in several boats, all of them Algerian and all male, except for one woman.
The first boat landed in la Azohía and 13 migrants were detained. There is some confusion as 15 people are reported to have arrived and it is believed that 2 people managed to come ashore without being detained.
Off the coast of Cabo Tiñoso nearby a further 11 men and one woman were intercepted out at sea.
Later in the day 18 immigrants were intercepted 66 nautical miles from the coast of Cartagena; 13 more in a boat sighted 18 nautical miles from the Cartagena coast and a further 14 in another boat close to Cabo de Palos.
All of them were taken into Cartagena where Cruz Roja volunteers carried out basic medical checks before testing for Covid. Once it has been determined if any are Covid positive, they are then handed over to the Policia Nacional in Cartagena.
Normally at this point the legal procedures to repatriate them to their country begins and a judge dictates a repatriation order, but as the migrant transit centre is closed, there is no law by which they can be detained in Spain, so having ascertained that they are not Covid-positive, any not deemed to be close contacts of the positive cases must be released.
Minors, however, must be cared for and at the moment the casa de la Espiritualidad in Alhama de Murcia is where minors who have arrived without an adult, are cared for.
On Tuesday two local police were quarantined after intervening in a fight between two young people showing Covid symptoms. Rapid tests on the two young men proved negative.

By Friday 5 of the 70 immigrants had tested positive for Covid and 40 of them were put in enforced quarantine by order of the regional health service, taken from a temporary marquee in Cartagena harbour to the El Valle Albergue in the El Valle park near to Murcia City where migrants in quarantine are being temporarily housed.

However, on Wednesday afternoon nine of the new arrivals escaped from the marquee and disappeared off into Cartagena. They were slowly recaptured but by Friday afternoon only six had been found. The three missing men are not believed to be Covid positive.

The Mayoress of Cartagena was very unhappy and  requested that the Government Delegate resign due to his handling of the situation.He defended his position saying that the situation was complex due to the closure of the migrant transfer centre.
The regional PP also dived into the argument demanding the resignation of the Government Delegate, as did regional minister Javier Celdrán, who said it was “irresponsible” for the national government to keep the migrant transit centre closed when the national Government was not able to keep the illegal arrivals” “sufficiently safe in custody”.
The union representing the police, the CEP was equally scathing, complaining that the management of the situation was putting both its members and the general public, at risk.
The Government Delegate responded by accusing the opposition of generating “social alarm” and prasied the work of those involved in caring for the migrants, accusing his political rivals of “shameful behaviour”.

On Friday the Government Delegate said that the numbers of police and Guardia Civíl in the region would be increased to cope with the extraordinary situation and more marquees would be errected in the port to enable Cruz Roja to separate the arrivals by boat in the future should  any more arrive. He also launched a surprisingly scathing and personal attack on the "much photographed" Mayoress of Cartagena as he called her, although in a way this is not surprising given his PSOE affiliaton and the fact that the Mayoress was kicked out of the PSOE party for having made a ruling pact with the PP after the last election. She did this to keep out the MC candidate, who would have taken the Mayorship, after having decidedly uncomfortable experiences with him when their parties had pacted in a previous election; she had ended up throwing him out of the council following a series of massive public rows and exchanges and he found himself in court last week after attacking a council employee! It all happens in Cartagena!!!!!

Travel

Corvera airport bus service temporarily suspended; the endless changes to timetables and amount of flights being cancelled currently make the service non-viable. This will be reviewed as the summer progresses. Click for info

The first two Covid positives to arrive via Barajas airport in Madrid were reported on Thursday, providing an opportunity for the Madrid regional government to once again repeat its calls for stricter monitoring in Spanish airports and for Covid testing to take place before a passenger flies to Spain.
The Minister of Health for the Madrid Region, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, has advocated establishing a system for visitors from countries with a "very complicated" epidemiological situation based on a PCR test taken in the country of origin before the flight, and undertaking "random" tests depending on the origin of the flight. Madrid has been highly vocal about the issue relating to “imported” cases in airports since the current arrangements for passengers were announced, calling them insufficient.
The regional government says that 32 “imported” cases were detected in the airport during the lockdown period when repatriation flights were being undertaken bringing Spanish nationals and residents back to Spain.

On Friday France announced that it was considering the use of a saliva test for passengers in its airports.

Beaches and buses:

40 Murcian beaches flying Q for Quality flags this summer: Cartagena has 12; Mazarrón, seven; Los Alcázares and Águilas, six; San Javier, five; and San Pedro, four. These were presented this week and are an internationally recognised quality award which awards well-maintained beaches. These are in addition to the Blue Flags which were awarded at the end of last month. Click for article

Free bus service to San Pedro del Pinatar Mediterranean beaches: There is parking for 250 vehicles in a carpark area from which the bus runs down to the beaches
This year there are well-documented issues with algal growth in parts of the Mar Menor and although the beaches themselves are in excellent condition, and the water is safe for bathing on most beaches, some bathers are not keen to swim with algae in the water.
As a result, the Mediterranean coastal beaches are attracting larger numbers of bathers, causing problems with parking around the main access points.
In san Pedro del Pinatar there are two main blocks of beaches, those in Lo Pagán which are Mar Menor beaches and the wilder Mediterranean beaches which are either side of the marina and run along the front of the Salinas natural salt pans, a natural park. There is very limited parking by the marina so a free bus service has been set up to run between the natural beaches of La Llana and Torre Derribada. This runs daily throughout July and August. Click for details
 

No lifeguards on "inland beaches". The Region of Murcia has several areas of fresh water which are popular with bathers in inland municipalities, such as the Salto del Usero in Bullas, the Pozos de Somogil in Moratalla, the Fuente Caputa in Mula, El Jarral in Abarán, the Presa in Cieza and la playa de El Embarcadero in Calasparra, all  busy in the summer. Prior to the budgetary cuts of the economic crisis which began in 2008, these all formerly had lifeguards every summer, and this year the intention had been to revive this service, but following advice from the Institute Carlos III in Madrid, that it would be difficult to guarantee the safety of a lifeguard as it is impossible to sanitise these areas, the decision has been taken not to send lifeguards until after the Covid crisis. Although Covid is not thought to be transmitted via water, it can be transmitted by those jumping in and out of it, walking on the rocks etc, and no act of sterilisation occurs such as that of chlorine in a swimming pool, for which reason those bathing in freshwater areas are advised to take particular care.

Los Alcázares council hoping to open red flag beaches soon : Underwater seabed inspection brigades are to clean Carrión and Manzanares beaches
Los Alcázares town council is coming under increasing pressure from local businesses to get three of its principal town beaches fully open for visitors, as Manzanares, Carrión and La Concha continue to be the only beaches in the Murcia Region still flying red flags for no bathing in peak tourist season.
Although the council is determined to force the national government to pay for the work required to clean up the shorelines of the beaches, patience is wearing thin amongst local traders who aren´t worried about who pays for the work, but just want somebody to hurry up and do it so that bathers can safely enter the water.Click for article
 

Calblanque 4:40 bus service begins on 11th July to beaches of Calblanque regional park
4:40 means four wheels can carry as many as 40 wheels if individual cars were to be allowed to drive into the park
The beaches within the Calblanque regional park are some of the most beautiful in the region, but access numbers are limited due to the restricted parking facilities on the edge of the park.It’s quite a distance from the parking to the beach so a bus service operates, starting from 11th July, with buses every 20 minutes.
As parking is limited, the service begins in Los Belones, where there is more parking. Click for full information
 

Turtle comes ashore in La Manga but leaves without laying eggs:The tortuga boba was sighted on the playa de Eurovosa in La Manga
In the early hours of Saturday morning a turtle came ashore on the beach of Eurovasa in La Manga del Mar Menor and was spotted scratching in the sand by a tractor driver, engaged in cleaning the beach at the time. Click for info
 

Ferry resumes between Santiago de la Ribera - La Manga del Mar Menor.The ferry has been closed since March due to the Covid virus.
Although several of the normal boat trip operators in the Mar Menor and Mazarrón have cancelled services this year the regular ferry connecting the Puerto Tomás Maestre of La Manga del Mar Menor with Santiago de La Ribera, running across the middle of the Mar Menor has resumed. Click for info

Fire

It's been a hot week, with temperatures in the mid-high thirties all week, although considerably lower than the hottest areas of Spain this week; Andlaucia, Extremadura and Castilla La Mancha where temperatures well into the forties meant that Murcia was generally around six degrees lower than the hottest areas of Spain.

There have been a number of scrub fires this week as the summer begins in earnest and although most of them did little damage and were rapidly intercepted by firefighters, they serve as a reminder that vigilance is crucial to prevent smaller fires from evolving into a major incident. On Thursday the first major fire of the season occurred in Cerro Gordo in Caravaca de la Cruz  and as night drew in there were nine aircraft working in the area, boosted by the arrival of amphibian planes from the national Government and a co-ordination plane supplied by the Castilla la Mancha government, as well as 150 personnel. The fire was finally extinguished by 10:00 the next morning. There were no casualties or serious injuries. It is believed that lightning could be the cause as another fire nearby in la Serrata started prior to this one during a storm. Click for article

Monday: Rapid intervention prevented cigarette butt fire in Caravaca de la Cruz from spreading: Click for article

Agricultural fire extinguished in Calasparra: The fire risk was high-extreme on Wednesday due to hot weather

Three fires overnight caused by lightning strike: These were spread across Molina de Segura, Abanilla and in the Sierra Minera between Cartagena and La Unión. Click for article
 

Safety showers to prevent trees collapsing in Murcia City
Three years ago branches broke without warning on the monumental ficus tree in Plaza Santo Domingo.
Murcia City Council is undertaking a “health check” on 700 specimen trees and the nearly 120,000 trees and palm trees that are in the public gardens of the municipality to check for stress and overall health ahead of the arrival of high temperatures
3 years ago branches on the monumental ficus tree in Plaza Santo Domingo in Murcia suddenly collapsed, injuring one person and terrifying others who were seated below drinking coffee in a plaza bar.
Since then, town halls in the region have been super-vigilant, cutting back the branches of the many giant trees which make public plazas such pleasant places to enjoy a relaxing drink, and undertaking comprehensive health checks throughout the year.Click for article

Other news:

King and Queen of Spain visit Murcia and Cieza on Tuesday:The royal couple visited an agricultural co-operative and the Murcian Institute of Biosanitary Research
The King and Queen of Spain visited the Murcia Region on Tuesday as part of a nationwide tour to support essential sectors and thank all of those who have been crucial in supplying essential services throughout the Covid crisis.Click for article
 

 Three-month extension for ITVs expiring between June 21st and August 31st: On Tuesday the Council of Ministers approved a three-month extension for the validity of Technical Inspection of Vehicles certificates (ITV) that expire between June 21st and August 31st. This is due to the sheer size of the backlog which has built up during the Covid crisis and the subsequent difficulties being experienced by drivers in some areas attempting to get an appointment at their local ITV centre for a test which is believed to amount to some 5 million vehicles!

Blue parking areas in Cartagena free during July at weekends
During the month of July, the ORA blue parking service in Cartagena will not be operational on Saturdays, which basically means that drivers who park in the regulated blue parking areas may do so free of charge on Saturdays.On Sundays there is no charge either. (During August it is normally free every day, but no announcement has yet been made. The same usually applies in Murcia City)

Complaints as major roadworks begin on La Manga del Mar Menor causing tailbacks: Residents yet again question the logic of undertaking major resurfacing works in the busiest weeks of the year when traffic is  at its peak on the only road running the full length of the strip! Click to read

Mazarrón municipal services cleaning up for summer. 20 workers will maintain and clean the port and urban areas this summer Click to read

More than 3,000 firearms were destroyed in Murcia last year: During the last year the Guardia Civíl destroyed a total of 86,566 weapons in Spain, 3,493 of which were confiscated in the Murcia region.
Some of the weapons are confiscated as their owners lack the necessary certification and others are seized by the Guardia during criminal investigations.
Public auctions are held to sell-off some of the firearms such as hunting rifles, but anything not sold at auction or considered to be a dangerous firearm is destroyed and reduced to scrap metal.
On the 9th July every year the United Nations holds International Gun Destruction Day to promote the action of destroying illicit firearms, rather than stockpiling them. Click for more info
 

Another drug plantation dismantled, this time in Mula: Green-fingered murcians have certainly been busy during lockdown! Click for article