Date Published: 19/05/2020
ARCHIVED - Murcian government ready to move into phase 2 next week
ARCHIVED ARTICLE The regional government must officially petition the Ministry of Health in order to enter phase 2 de-escalation
The Murcian regional government will officially request that the region move into phase 2 of the de-escalation process next week with “limitations”, although this will exclude the municipality of Totana which is at the centre of an outbreak amongst agricultural workers reported on Friday last week(click to
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The latest figures for Murcia show that the number of cases has now dropped below 200 and the regional government considers that the region is able to meet the criteria required by the national Ministry of Health to move forward.
The ministry will approve the applications of each region based on their individual situation, taking into consideration the number of active and new cases, as well as the capacity of the health service to cope with the current demands of the virus.
The Canary and Balearic Islands were permitted to enter phase 2 on Monday easing restrictions further.
Those entering phase 2 can enjoy a wider range of sports and longer hours for exercising and walks, the re-opening of commercial centres, cinemas, theatres, concert halls, the re-opening of limited internal areas within bars and restaurants, an increase in the group size permitted to partake in an active tourism event to 20 and other benefits.
The Murcian government, however, has said that it will request certain “limitations” and will detail these after speaking to the 45 municipal mayors by videoconference.
La Verdad however, has reported this afternoon that the “limitations” will include a request that the numbers of people allowed to gather in a bar or private dwelling remain at 10, rather than increasing to 15 as is the case for those passing into phase 2 and the number permitted to attend an open-air cultural event remain at 100.
The Murcian government also wants to maintain the centros de día, which offer social activity for the elderly, closed.
The Ministry of Health will evaluate the proposals from all of the autonomous communities and communicate its decision at the weekend (normally Saturday).
Madrid is reportedly preparing documentation to request its entry into phase one although today has reported 31 deaths and 92 new cases in the last 24 hours. The number of fatalities in Madrid is officially 8,894, although the regional executive itself has counted 14,144 fatalities taking into account deaths registered in residencias, private residences etc, registered with the official registry.
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