Murcia Today Weekly Bulletin 28th August

Fire at the nautical club in Lo Pagán on Friday. Image Rasmus Skovgaard

This week, it can be said, summer is over and we're suddenly heading into an autumn which is inevitably going to be dominated by Covid. This week press coverage has been dominated by the rising numbers of cases both nationally and regionally and the measures being adopted to combat this situation at every level.

The Minister of Health in Spain, Salvador Illa, was at pains to explain this week that Spain is investing into PCR testing to increase detection of asymptomatic cases, which logically increases its published cases rate, but hopefully long-term will help to reduce the spread of the virus as cases are being quarantined, not left to continue spreading the virus unchecked as is the case in other countries which are reporting lower case numbers and undertaking less testing (!).

Covid Spain

On Friday  21st August the official total of Covid-19 cases published by the Spanish Ministry of Health was 386,054. No national figures are published at the weekend, so the next set of data was published on Monday evening, and took the total to 405,436 a difference of 19,382 cases between the two sets of data. Click to read Monday data

By Friday 28th August the national total had reached 439,286, which means that during the last seven day period, 53,232 cases of Covid had been added to the national total, or 7,604 cases per DAY.

This level of new cases is worrying and there is widespread acceptance now that the number of outbreaks across the country does require more stringent measures to try and bring the virus back under control, particularly as schools are on the verge of re-opening for the autumn term, but what should these measures be and how are they going to be implemented given the complicated system of government in Spain, with each of the 17 autonomous regions having its own regional government and health authority and a great deal of power to make their own decisions at a regional level.

For the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, the answer is straightforward; leave things exactly how they are, allow the regional governments to make their own decisions about how they manage cases in their own territories at a regional level and only intervene when requested to do so by the regional government.

On Tuesday the PM called for "Institutional unity and individual responsibility to avoid new infections" and reiterated his determination NOT to call a second national state of emergency/alarm.

The Prime Minister emphasised the willingness of the Government to assist the Autonomous Communities to declare a state of alarm within their territories, without the need for the Executive to establish it throughout the national territory at the same time.

Article 5 of the Organic Law of 1981 that regulates the state of alarm indicates that "when the cases referred to in the preceding article exclusively affect all or part of the territorial scope of an Autonomous Community, the President of the same may request the Government to declare a state of alarm" and attend a session of Congress to justfy the request.

This mechanism is not a return to the lockdowns of the first state of emergency, but a multi-faceted mechanism which creates controlled phases to manage the virus and gives the Autonomous regional governments powers to help them control confinements and control and restrict the movement of the population. The PM is offering a "co/governance arrangement" through which the regional authorities can request the help of the state but not lose full control of their own government. Click here to read the full article which gives background information explaining why the regional government is reluctant to impose a full state of emergency again and why the regional governments don't want this mechanism

The regional governments, however, emphatically rejected his offer in the days that followed, all saying that they have the situation under control in their own regions. Political opponents accused the PM of leaving regional governments to solve a national crisis and criticised what they called his lack of leadership for failing to manage the crisis himself.

Regional governments can use judicial orders to control movement and impose measures, but have to justify their request to the court when requesting an order. Murcian readers will recall that recently Totana was placed under a "confinement order". Technically the mechanism used for these restrictions was a request to "limit movement" and it was granted by the courts as a temporary restriction on movement, purely on a temporary basis, so there are ways in which the regional governments can act locally, without the state of emergency mechanism. At the moment this is the way the regions are planning to move forward this autumn as nobody wants a second large/scale confinement. There are a lot of comments on expat social media at the moment with users who are just not reading these news stories and seem to not want to believe what is actually going on, making endless comments along the lines, oh well, we'll be in lockdown next week anyway, etc which is NOT what is happening.

All the evidence at the moment points to a determination to increase testing in order to try and identify where the cases are. The Government is fully aware that their testing process is pushing up the number of cases reported on a daily basis and is "finding" asymptomatic and mild cases which would remain undetected otherwise, but would continue to spread the virus. The current strategy is that when there is an outbreak somewhere, PCR testing teams are moving in and carrying out mass testing in the area. This week for example, we saw this happening here in Murcia in Fuente Álamo and Cartagena where there has a sudden rise in cases in specific areas. Nationally, the same process has been happening in other areas where there are problems such as Madrid and Barcelona, both of which have been carrying out mass testing in local districts to try and identify as many cases as possible, as have other regions.

At this point, these individuals are quarantined and contact tracers try to find their close contacts and call them in for testing, to immediately get on top of the outbreak before it can reach the more vulnerable members of society. So this is why Spain is seeing a huge surge in cases at the moment, because more testing is being done to try and find them (according to the Health Minister).

The problem at the moment is the lack of a mechanism to enforce quarantine restrictions on those who have been told to quarantine and this is where the plan is running into trouble and why the regional governments have been calling on the national government to provide legislation criminalising the breaking of quarantine.

Resources to monitor the movements of those who should be in quarantine are limited and although regional governments are employing contact tracers, there simply aren´t enough now that case numbers are rising so quickly.

This was the second part of the offer made by the PM to the regional governments on Tuesday; Spanish Government offers 2,000 Army trained contact tracers to the autonomous regions.

During lockdown the Armed Forces played an important role in assisting the regional Governments of the 17 Autonomous Communities to manage the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and since the state of emergency concluded, training has been underway to provide other services as required should there be a second wave.

2,000 military personnel have been trained as contact tracers and the Prime Minister said that these would be made available to the autonomous communities to work on contact tracing tasks, help them develop tracking techniques, improve the use of digital media to discover new positives and, above all, strengthen the capacities of the Autonomous Communities to manage the pandemic.During the week, several regions accepted, and  by Friday the Ministry of Defence announced that trackers had been assigned to Castilla y León, the Valencia region, Murcia, Cantabria and Melilla already, and would be depolyed immediately, and Madrid and Galicia had confirmed their interest.

Murcia has requested 60 tracers, which will begin work next week, and the Valencia Region 150.

Spain buys 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid.The vaccines could be available at the end of this year or the beginning of next if the product is licensed.The race to have the first doses of vaccines against Covid-19 is well underway and Spain is determined not to be left behind as Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Spain.The Spanish Government is participating in the centralized purchase by the European Commission of a vaccine from the British laboratory AstraZeneca, "one of the most advanced alternatives" in the fight against this pandemic, say the Health Ministry.
The distribution, according to the department of Salvador Illa in a statement, "will be done in an equitable manner between the countries according to their population." This would mean that Spain will receive 31 million doses if all countries within the block participate in the purchase, with the option for a further 10 million.For now, the amount that Spain and the remaining European countries will pay for these doses is not known, although the British laboratory assured that its vaccine would cost a few euros, ranking for the moment as the most affordable compared to other advanced options such as Moderna, Pfizer or Janssen (Johnson & Johnson group).Click to read

On Friday the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products of the Ministry of Health authorized the first clinical trial in Spain for an anticovid vaccine. Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, said on Friday afternoon that the government “is making every effort to get effective and safe vaccines.”

The vaccine in question is from Janssen, owned by the American company Johnson & Johnson, and has just started phase 2 trials. The tests will be carried out in Spain, Belgium and Germany.

Tests in Spain will be carried out through three Spanish hospitals, from where the tests on 190 volunteers will be coordinated. The Madrid hospitals of La Paz and La Princesa and the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital in Santander will begin to recruit patients for this trial immediately. They are looking for healthy people, aged between 18 and 55 years old, as well as those over 65 years old.
Phase 1 was carried out in the USA and Belgium, in which 1,045 people participated and the results were positive."When phase two of a clinical trial is reached, it means that we have already come from a first study where it has been shown that the vaccine does not produce toxicity or adverse reactions," the Minister said during the announcement. "The objective of these phases is to calibrate the doses necessary to generate immunity".

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is the first to be tested in Spain, but the Minister stated that the health ministry is, " in contact with multiple researchers and companies so that, if possible, other clinical trials can be carried out in Spain".
An agreement has been made with a Spanish company to package the vaccine here in Spain following successful trials

Flu vaccination in Spain brought forward to first half of October:On Thursday a meeting of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS) between the 17 autonomous regions of Spain and Ministry of Health agreed that the start of the flu vaccination campaign will begin consecutively in all of the autonomous communities and major cities in the first fortnight of October.

Under normal circumstances this campaign begins at the end of October or beginning of November, but the Health Minister said on that "ideally" the campaign will begin in the first week of October.

"The mode of transmission and the symptoms of the new coronavirus and the influenza virus are very similar. Therefore, due to a possible coexistence during this next 2020-2021 season of the circulation of both viruses, new objectives have been set with the purpose of protecting the most vulnerable and also trying to prevent the saturation of the health care system," the Minister said.This year the parameters have been amplified to try and protect the most vulnerable, and the 2020 campaign aims to achieve coverage of at least 75% in health personnel and those over 65; and 60% in pregnant women and people with risk conditions.

Study estimates that a Covid vaccine must be 80% effective for a normal return to life: Click here

Uncivil behaviour:

Young people continue to ignore Covid rules and gather in open-air locations now that discos and clubs are closed and this week there have been many stories in the Spanish media illustrating this, as the authorities continue to add new restrictions to try and limit this behaviour. On Friday for example, Madrid announced the closure of parks and gardens at night to prevent young people gathering; a similar measure is already operating in other regions. A couple of examples from this week:

Macro-party with 200 people broken up Albacete for ignoring Covid measures:The owner of the property concerned has been denounced for failing to comply with the decree of the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha that came into force last Saturday and prohibited the celebration of large botellón drinking parties and concentrations of more than 10 people. Click to read

 Illegal gathering of 150 vehicles dissolved in Zaragoza, one of the worst hit areas for Covid. The Civil Guard of Zaragoza carried out the operation to break up the illegal concentration of more than 150 vehicles and gathering of 300 young people in the Empresarium industrial estate, located in the municipality of Zaragoza, attendees breaking the rule of no more than 10 people meeting in a public space. Click to read

Police are also attempting to clamp down on uncivil behaviour in other ways. One interesting story relates to the arrest of a "negationist" a word which seems to be becoming increasingly prominent and describes somebody who is in "Covid denial". There is increasing disquiet amongst the medical sector about this trend and a lot of anger that their work is being undermined by this movement. One little example was on Friday afternoon when the Official College of Physicians of the Balearic Islands (Comib) announced that they would act with "forcefulness" against " the deniers of COVID-19 " The General Council of Official Colleges of Physicians (CGCOM) and the Forum of the Medical Profession, have both issued warnings against the so-called "denial movements", this week and stressed that their postulates and recommendations represent a "serious irresponsibility and a serious danger" for public health. Medics who ignore their formal stance face expulsion.

National Police arrest negationist who denied Covid existence, inciting hatred and violence on social networks. In this case the individual involved had undertaken a campaign against journalists, health professionals, politicians and the media in general, publishing direct threats and false information about the Covid virus on social media and other platforms.This type of incitement to violence or hatred is illegal under the controversial  "gagging law", commonly known as the Ley Mordaza (Ley Orgánica de protección de la seguridad ciudadana) which was passed in 2015. Some Social Media users have been particularly aggressive in defence of their Covid opinions, and tend to forget that some of the slanderous and highly offensive comments they make are in contravention of this law, tending to think they can "say what they want on social media". The police disagree. Click for full article

Madrid smoking ban; this has again been in the news all week and has attracted considerable comment. Finally, by the end of the week the Superior Court of Justice over-ruled everybody else and ratified the measures to ban smoking in public areas where the 2 metre distacing cannot be respected, close nocturnal leisure venues etc, along the same lines as the rest of the country. The judge who originally blocked the measures has been rebuked for "over-stepping the mark" and ruling outside of his jurisdiction.

Schools

Some schools re-open next week and the whole topic of the return to school has been highly prominent in the media all week, with parents and teachers alike concerned about the implications of children once again gathering in groups at school and the potential for contagion that this presents, disquiet which has been expressed through petitions, political recrimination, protests and the threat of strikes.

Although by now there is little doubt that children can transmit the virus, studies are increasingly arriving at the conclusion that younger children are less likely to suffer severe cases and also appear to be less effective at transmitting it, but there is also no doubt that Covid thrives on human contact and every contact is a potential opportunity for the virus to be transmitted.

On Thursday representatives from the 17 autonomous regions of Spain and the Ministry of Education held a video-conference to agree common measures which would be implemented right across the country, although accepting that individual schools and regional authorities would implement additional measures as appropriate at a local level. Click here to read the full report and see the measures agreed.

Madrid will install 6,000 cameras in classrooms so that students can follow the classes from home. The Regional government of Madrid, the region with the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Spain, has announced that it is intending to buy more than 6,000 cameras to install in classrooms, so that classes can be followed online from home, as well as 70,000 computers for students and teachers.

Catalonia:Masks will be obligatory for schoolchildren aged 12+ in all of Catalonia.Masks will be compulsory for all students over 12 years of age across Catalonia, and for those over 6 years of age in those territories where the risk of contagion is highest, while the ratio of students in primary classes will be less than 20 students. The Catalan Government also announced that between September 15th and November 15th, half a million PCR tests will be carried out in-situ in schools throughout Catalonia.Click for article

Again, as the week has moved on, many regions have announced their own initiatives; in Murcia for example, the regional government has allocated 2 million euros to support low income families in the eventuality that a family be forced to quarantine because children in a specific "bubble" are being quarantined as a member of their group has tested positive. Murcia has also announced that it will be PCR testing all staff and auxiliaries before the return to school. The Mula municipality is giving free masks to families with children to help with the additional cost etc.

And on Saturday morning a summary was published showing that the regions have decided to opt for a phased return to school, phasing in different age groups to assess how the measures will work and starting on different dates. In Madrid the younger children start on 4th September and the remainder are phased in throughout the month, the oldest not returning until the 28th.

Asturias is not even starting its school returns until 22nd September; the Basque Country starts on the 7th; Galicia is going for the 10th; Navarra on the 4th; Murcia, the Valencia Region, Cantabria, La Rioja, Aragón are all on the 7th; Castilla La Mancha, Castilla y León on the 9th, Andalucía and the Balearics on the 10th and Catalonia on the 14th.

Covid Murcia

Last Friday the Murcia region had 1757 cases, and by Friday 28th August this had risen to 2876, a rise of 1119 in just seven days.

During the week the number of cases per day has broken records several times, the worst day being 340 cases on Wednesday.

The fatalities rose from 155 to 159.

Total number of cases diagnosed in the last 14 days by municipality:(last published on WEDNESDAY evening but gives clear indication of what is happening)

Abanilla 0
Abarán 23
Águilas 13
Albudeite 0
Alcantarilla 56
Los Alcázares 7
Alguazas 23
Alhama de Murcia 57
Archena 9
Beniel 9
Blanca 12
Bullas 3
Calasparra 6
Caravaca de la Cruz 30
Cartagena 276
Cehegín 6
Ceutí 32
Cieza 13
Fortuna 15
Fuente Álamo 57
Jumilla 40
Librilla 3
Lorca 426
Lorquí 19
Mazarrón 27
Molina de Segura 105
Moratalla 3
Mula 52
Murcia 715
Ojós 0

Pliego 2
Puerto Lumbreras 16
Ricote 1
San Javier 34
San Pedro del Pinatar 18
Santomera 11
Torre Pacheco 24
Las Torres de Cotillas 30
Totana 82
La Unión 8
Villanueva del Río Segura 4
Yecla 17
Those from other regions diagnosed in Murcia 89
Total 2376 (as of Wednesday 26th August)

To which can now be added

Thursday: 54 Murcia, 37 to Lorca, 18 to Molina de Segura, 12 to Cartagena, 12 to Totana, 11 to Alhama de Murcia, 9 to Lorquí, 8 to Alcantarilla, 7 to Ceutí, 6 to Mula, 6 to Torre Pacheco, 5 to Fortuna, 5 to San Javier, 5 to Caravaca de la Cruz, 5 to San Pedro

Friday: 103 in Murcia, 47 in Lorca, 25 in Cartagena, 20 in Fuente Álamo, 15 in Jumilla, 13 in Totana, 9 in Mazarrón, 9 in Molina de Segura, 7 in Alcantarilla, 6 in Ceutí , and 5 in Águilas as well as smaller numbers of cases across the region, but these won´t be published again until Wednesday.

This second list shows the total number of cases diagnosed throughout the pandemic and then the IA* FOR THE LAST 14 DAYS. This is a clear indicator of how rapidly the infections are increasing in each municipality as this rate is calculated based on the number of population in a given municipality, and is calculated per 100,000 head of population. This is a clearer indicator of the areas which are experiencing problems, as the average for the whole of the region is 102.4, so any figure above that level is higher than average.

In spite of the growing number of cases nationally, Murcia as a region is still below the national average, which is 176.2.

Total cases throughout the Covid pandemic and IA* (number of cases per 100,000 of population) in the last 14 days

Abanilla 4/ 0
Abarán 25/177
Águilas 21/37
Albudeite 0
Alcantarilla 81/133
Los Alcázares 13/43
Alguazas 35/239
Alhama de Murcia 83/258
Archena 22/47
Beniel 33/80
Blanca 16/184
Bullas 10/26
Calasparra 8/59
Caravaca de la Cruz 48/117
Cartagena 427/129
Cehegín 9/40
Ceutí 34/272
Cieza 44/37
Fortuna 22/148
Fuente Álamo 64/344
Jumilla 61/156
Librilla 3/57
Lorca 637/451
Lorquí 22/266
Mazarrón145/84
Molina de Segura 165/146
Moratalla 13/38
Mula 70/308
Murcia 1287/158
Ojós 0

Pliego 2/52

Puerto Lumbreras 43/104
Ricote 1/79
San Javier 44/105
San Pedro del Pinatar 26/71
Santomera 25/68
Torre Pacheco 57/67
Las Torres de Cotillas 43/140
Totana 376/256
La Unión 14/40
Villanueva del Río Segura 6/138
Yecla 39/49

Problem areas:

Lorca.

In the last 14 days Lorca has registered 426 new cases, giving it an IA* rate of 451, four times the regional average. The municipality itself is the largest in the region in geographical terms, but the population is centred arounf the city of Lorca and the problem hotspots are in two residential districts of the city; san Diego and San José and the city centre itself. Punto Covid PCR testing points are installed in the three areas and occupancy of hostelries is limited to 40%.

Cartagena

Cartagena municipality also covers a wide area, and accounts for 276 cases in the last 14 days with an IA* of 129. This is low because the municipality has a large population of 214,802. The cases are centred in the barrio de Isaac Peral, a residential area of the main city and in this particular district the IA* rate is 263.9. The council is carrying out intensive PCR testing in this district to try and bring the outbreak under control, with social services providing a shopping service for those who must quarantine, the local police re-enforcing quarantine vigilance to make sure residents stay indoors and the council providing financial support to the residents forced to quarantine. This area is one of the "poorer" areas of the municipality.

Murcia City

This accounts for the largest number of actual cases, 715, but the city has a lower IA* of 158 because its population is 453,258. The main problem districts are in the district of El Carmen, located by the church of El Carmen and the former military barracks. Other problem districts are San Andrés, Cabezo de Torres and El Palmar. There are now several Covid tester points in the capital, bars are limited to 40% capacity and the council is implementing a raft of measures to try and limit the spread of the virus.

Segura River Valley

Cases are spreading rapidly all along the Segura valley, due principally to the wedding attended by 200 people at which the groom was positive. This has sparked off a raft of new cases. Abarán, Alguazas. Ceutí, Lorquí, Villanueva, Molina de Segura are all affected and so far Blanca, Ricote and Archena are showing upward trends as well.

Other areas

Other problem areas with increasing rates are Alhama de Murcia, 83 cases in 2 weeks and an IA of 258, Fuente Álamo with 64 cases and an IA rate of 344 and Mula with 70 cases and an IA rate of 308. Totana is still showing 376 cases and an IA of 256, so still double that of the regional average even though the municipality is no longer confined.

San Javier has announced the closure of public parks; the Mayor of Lorquí has asked residents to voluntarily confine themselves, Los Alcázares has suspended the remainder of its summer cultural programme, Águilas has cancelled all cultural events in the Plaza Antonio Cortijos and closed sports centres, Mazarrón has cancelled its guided walks and tours programme, Murcia city has announced the early closure of its summer swimming pools and is considering cancelling cultural events scheduled in the municipality for the remainder of the year, Alhama has closed sports centres and cancelled cultural events.

As mentioned above, the regional government has requested additional military tracers and is under pressure to recruit more locally as further municipalities expand testing programmes.

The Murcian regional government remains resolute that it will NOT lock down the region, but will work with local councils to try and contain their outbreaks locally. At the moment, Lorca is the biggest concern and there has been talk this week about possibly confining the city should cases continue to mount up as they have this last week.

Practical measures are being approved to help the health service cope with an anticipated increase in numbers. One of the most important being the need to pre-book medical appointments as health centres are being classified according to the risk level in each municipality. Wherever possible, medical consultations are being held over the phone, to limit the exposure of medical staff.

Red alert in 7 health centres

The Murcian Health Service (SMS) has activated a red alert level in seven health centers due to the high levels of Covid-19; Fuente Álamo, Lorquí, Barrio Peral (Cartagena), El Carmen (Murcia), Lorca Sur, Lorca centre and San Diego (also in Lorca).

When a centre is in red level only telephonic appointments are available with the doctor unless there is an emergency situation. In the case that a presencial appointment is given, the patient is first assessed by a care worker before seeing a doctor in order to protect medical professionals.

A triage system also operates, so that patients arriving with respiratory symptoms are treated in a separate circuit from other patients, helping to isolate potential risk patients.

Orange alert in 26 centres
Patients attending Orange alert centres must request appointments in advance and telephone consultations are undertaken wherever possible

Orange centres: Caravaca, Jumilla, Ceutí, Molina South, Santomera and numerous centers in Murcia and its metropolitan area including Santa María de Gracia, Cabezo de Torres, Murcia Sur, Vistabella, Floridablanca, Alquerías, Beniel and Llano de Brujas, also in the Murcia Oeste area (Mula, Alcantarilla / Sangonera, El Palmar, Nonduermas and San Andrés). Five areas of the Cartagena health area (Los Dolores, Casco Antiguo, San Antón, Mazarrón and Puerto de Mazarrón) and in three of the Guadalentín health area (Totana norte, Sutullena, Puerto Lumbreras).

Yellow centres ( controls for those showing Covid symptoms, patients requested to pre-book)
Majority of centres in the Vega Media, Cartagena health área (La Unión, La Manga, Los Barreros, Mar Menor, Pozo Estrecho, Oeste, Santa Lucía, Este and Molinos Marfagones); five in the Mar Menor (San Pedro, San Javier, Los Alcázares, Torre Pacheco Este, Torre Pacheco Oeste), four in the Vega Alta (Abarán, Blanca, Cieza Este and Cieza Oeste).

Murcian health service acquires new PCR analysis machines to speed up diagnosis. Increased PCR testing points have been installed in Murcia City, Cartagena and Fuente Álamo. Click to read

Santa Lucia and Rosell hospitals in Cartagena increase security control:The Santa Lucía hospital in Cartagena, the principal hospital in Area 2 Cartagena and the Rosell will be intensifying access control measures from Wednesday 25th August to increase security.

Hospital doors will be locked from 22.30 until 07:30 the following morning, heat controls will be used and a user registration system will be in place to monitor users of the hospital. It has been requested that only one person accompany patients to any appointments.

6 month extension to repeat electronic prescriptions service in Murcia Region.The Murcian Health Service (SMS) has decided to extend the electronic prescriptions service for those patients with treatments that were about to end during August or September and needed to attend a review with their doctor in order to continue receiving repeat medication. This measure was first taken in March when the Covid virus was extending rapidly and given the recent upsurge in new cases, it has been deemed prudent to minimise the risk to health professionals and patients and extend the measure for a further six months.

This is being done to limit the need to travel to clinics and health centers, and avoid contacts at a time when Primary Care is being overwhelmed by demands relating to Covid-19. Click to read

Family doctors in the Murcia region can now sign mask waiver documentation:Click to read

Police are also getting harder now on those not wearing masks or complying with the restrictions:

More than 500 fines issued for not wearing masks in Murcia and Cartagena last weekend.Local Police officers in Murcia and Cartagena issued 527 denuncias between them for not wearing or misusing masks. Click to read

Lorca issued 16 fines for smoking in the street and 69 denuncias for partygoers at the weekend.

Fuente Álamo closes outlying consultorios and prepares to open a Punto Covid: consultorios in the outlying districts of Balsapintada, Las Palas and Cuevas de Reyllo will be closed in order to prepare for the opening of a Punto Covid testing point in the municipality and focus resources into the main health centre in the town of Fuente Álamo itself due to 22 cases in the municipality.

Travel and tourism

Covid cases have practically tripled in two weeks in the Balearic Islands; Click to read

Covid positives in Balearic Islands care homes go from 1 in 23 in 3 weeks; Click to read

The two stories above reflect the trend of the virus in the Balearic Islands, which is being particularly badly hit by the decision of the German Government to advise against travel to all of Spain, including the Balearics. Added to the new legislation closing nocturnal leisure venues, the islands face bleak tourism prospects for the winter and cases have been rising steadily all week. On Friday new limits were imposed on the capacity of bars to try and slow down the spread of the virus, but all of the above only served as justification for Jet2 to deliver another body blow to tourism by announcing that all of its holidays and flights to the islands for the remainder of 2020 were cancelled.

Friday: Greece announces prohibition of flights from Catalonia and extends measures against the rest of Spain.

Sheraton Hotel logos are removed on Hacienda del Álamo as hotel closure is finalised:

The hotel has failed to re-open following the end of lockdown

Less than 2 years after re-opening, the Sheraton logos on the side of the 4 star hotel on the Haciende del Álamo Resort in Fuente Álamo were quietly removed on the 24th August, workers completing the task of removing the principal logos by 09:15 in the morning.

The hotel had failed to re-open following the enforced Covid lockdown this spring and businesses operating from hotel premises had been given notice to vacate.

The 154 room hotel was fully refurbished and re-equipped for the 2018 re-opening and hopes had been high that with the new airport in Corvera opening at the beginning of 2019, just a short drive from the resort, that this would help to improve employment opportunities within the resort and municipality, but a series of factors have done little to help the hotel, and the covid crisis has been one challenge too many.

This year the tourism sector in Spain has been decimated by covid. The sector as a whole expects to lose 99 billion euros this year and hundreds of thousands of temporary and permanent jobs will be lost in the sector this autumn following the measures to close nocturnal venues and reduce the activity in the hostelry sector, as well as due to the quarantines and restrictions placed on travel to Spain, including those of the British and German governments the two most important markets for Spain.

Today it was announced that the Murcia Region lost nearly 50% of all tourists during July, and 72% of all international tourists during the same month.

Hotel occupancy in the region was only 33.7%, and with occupancy at that level, hotels right across the region will struggle to remain solvent.

It's also going to be a rough winter for all those working in the hostelry sector. Last July the sector was employing 1.8 million workers, and this year that figure has fallen to 1.1 million, with more than 420,000 still on the ERTE scheme. The closure of nocturnal leisure venues will add thousands to these totals, and the further restrictions on group sizes, musical events and closing times are expected to make life even more difficult for bar owners. Fear of contagion now that cases numbers are rising and the lack of foreign tourists is certainly being felt on golf resorts at the moment and readers this week have been showing pictures of empty "resort centres" and asking how "their" bars are going to survive the winter.

Other news:
74 year old bather drowns off Playa Alamillo in Puerto de Mazarrón. Click to read

33 year old drowns off Playa Galua in La Manga del Mar Menor. This beach is known to have dangerous currents and appears regularly in the news as a beach on which rescues are necessary.The deceased was a local man from Cartagena.

Fire at the nautical club in Lo Pagán, San Pedro del Pinatar; there were no injuries but the nautical club was badly damaged. Click to read

Other news Spanish:

3,000 kilometre journey of the Colomera turtle from Valencia to the Greek Islands: This article relates to a loggerhead turtle which has become known as the “Colomera turtle”, a 100 kg female turtle rescued twice in the Valencia region and which has this week shown researchers how turtles can make impressive voyages in a remarkably short time, the tracker on her back showing that she has travelled over 3,000 km in little more than a month. So many turtles die at the hands of humans, only one in a thousand even surviving to adulthood, and this recounts how she has twice been saved in the regional rescue centre and is now in a known nesting area, with a tracker fitted to her back. Click to read

Madrid teenager accidentally ran over and killed his father parking the car. Terrible thing to happen. Click here

Tragedy as 3 year-old drowns in Alicante swimming pool. The third in August in just the Vega Baja area.Click to read

Polar air will bring a sharp drop in temperatures at the weekend. Click to read.

By Friday this had turned into an orange weather warning for Murcia and Catalonia with yellow warnings all along the Mediterranean coast

Migration:

Parking attendant who slashed another with broken bottle expelled from Spain
During a dispute between two of the so-called “parking gorillas” in Murcia city one slashed the neck of the other with a broken bottle
The whole topic of irregular migration is complex, and the lives of those who do reach Spain and are not returned to their country of origin due to the difficulty in proving where they actually came from is infrequently documented, as these “sin papeles” are not permitted to work legally and disappear into a world in which they are frequently exploited and abused, whilst searching for a better life in Spain.
Some of them find “work” touring souvenirs in coastal areas, or selling fake goods in markets and street corners, others end up picking vegetables in plastic covered greenhouses in sweltering temperatures and some “work” as parking attendants, “helping” motorists to park by pointing in the vague direction of an empty space and asking for a tip in return. They are widely known as “parking gorillas”, a derogatory term, accepted, but one which is even used in court documents and by the media in headlines.
Although tolerated by the authorities, their presence is often unwelcome and motorists complain about feeling intimidated as there is obviously fierce competition over territory and tips.
In one such dispute tempers boiled over and one “gorilla” (A.R) slashed another in the neck with a broken bottle, the events occurring on the afternoon of January 17th, 2019 on calle Bolos de Murcia in the capital.
Fortunately, the victim received prompt medical attention and recovered.
The Provincial Court of Murcia sentenced the perpetrator to five years in prison and the payment of compensation of 2,000 euros to his colleague, finding him guilty of attempted murder, but has replaced the sentence with an expulsion order, expelling him from Spain and banning him from entering the country for 10 years.
 

Irregular migration.

It's been a busy week for coastguards this week, with a continuous stream of pateras containing Algerian economic migrants arriving. Some have tested positive for Covid and are now in Cartagena in hospital, and there are over 200 quarantined migrants in the Hotel el Cenajo in Moratalla.

The Ed. had an interesting conversation with the cousin of one of the migrants who left Algeria in a boat last Friday and has not been heard from since, as he attempted to find out where his cousin is. He himself had left Algeria to seek a better life and was now living in the UK, and was very forthcoming about why so many young men are making these dangerous voyages to find work, and was of the opinion that all those he knew who had made the journey were now in France and Belgium, and don´t want to stay in Spain, as it is more difficult to work here. An interesting conversation.

Thursday: 14 boats and 184 irregular Algerian migrants on Thursday; wave of migrants continues. Click to read

Migrant boat lands on Percheles beach in Mazarrón:At around a quarter to seven on Wednesday morning a patera containing an unspecified number of irregular migrants arrived on Percheles beach, in the Mazarrón municipality, and its occupants headed off into the surrounding countryside.

Their arrival was witnessed by a local resident who called the police, Guardia Civíl and local police carrying out a search of the area to try and locate the new arrivals.

11 migrants are reported to have been located and a minibus was sent to transfer them to the Escombreras port area in Cartagena, where the Cruz Roja has an encampment, so that Covid testing can be undertaken.Click to read

.By Wednesday evening the total number of boats and migrants  had reached 7 boats and 67 migrants. Click to read

Six further boatloads of Algerian migrants on Sunday add 73 to weekend total: Click to read

The number of crossings by Algerians has increased dramatically recently; the Frontex border force said last week about crossings on the Western mediterranean route “There were around 1 500 detections of illegal border crossings in the Western Mediterranean in July, 84% more than in the previous month.Despite the rise last month, the total for the first seven months of 2020, was less than half the figure from the same period in the previous year at 6 100.

The number of Algerians, who accounted for one out of every two detections on this route this year, was seven times the figure from a year ago. “

All of the migrants intercepted recently off the Murcian coast have been Algerians.

This latest batch of boats comprised 73 people in six boats on Sunday, bringing the total of irregular migrants arriving in the Region of Murcia to 132 in two days, four of the vessels intercepted southeast of the Monte de las Cenizas regional park, in Cartagena, while the other two were located off the coasts of Cartagena and Águilas. All of those intercepted were taken to the port of Escombreras and handed over to the National Police and the Red Cross for PCR testing, the results of which will be available in around 48 hours.

Hopefully the storms won´t be too severe tonight! I'm off to clean the chickens out and put the garden soft furnishings away just in case!  Take care, stay safe and thank you for your support.