ARCHIVED - Murcian regional government limits vehicle occupancy to 50 percent for those from separate households

The measure is designed to reduce the number of new cases contracted due to close contact in the work environment

During the latest meeting of the Covid Monotoring Committee on Tuesday morning, the Murcian regional government has taken the decision to limit the occupation of vehicles for people who do not live together to 50% after detecting "many contagions when travelling in the workplace," said regional president Fernando López Miras.

"For example, in a five-seater vehicle, only three seats can be occupied," said the regional president, who has reported that the order will be published tomorrow in the Official Gazette of the Region of Murcia (BORM).

This appears to indicate that two couples living in different households cannot travel together in a four seater car and goes back to a restriction in place during phase 2 of the de-escalation process.

The Murcian regional president and regional minister of health gave a press conference together following the meeting, stating that the decision has been made in line with recommendations from the Epidemiology and Public Health Service to combat the expansion of coronavirus in the Region.

Both national and regional governments have been focusing on the sources of the outbreaks to try and tackle the root of the new cases which are once again reaching record heights.

The measures agreed by all of the autonomous regions last week to close down discos, bars de copas, live music in bars, prohibit botellon gatherings, limit private gatherings to 10 people, prohibit the drinking of alcohol and smoking in public streets or within 2 metres of another person are all designed to tackle the problems of the transmission between young people and those socialising in nocturnal leisure venues, but there is also a problem with covid being transmitted in a work environment, one of the closest contact points being when workers are being transported from one place to another.

The agricultural sector in particular has suffered from contagion in groups of workers transported by minibus, and this measure aims to ensure that those required to transport can socially distance from co-workers.

The head of the Murcian Government has once again insisted on the need for the population to respect health measures to prevent the advance of the disease in the Region, where 86 new infections have been recorded in the last 24 hours, and an increase in people admitted to hospitals.

Attendance at weddings etc may be limited again
Another area which may be limited by the regional government soon is attendance at weddings/funerals etc.

At the weekend the groom of a wedding party in Cabezo de Torres attended by 200 people tested positive, and although all the guests have been quarantined awaiting the results of PCR testing, the case has once again highlighted the potential risks of allowing gatherings of this size. It is quite likely that a limitation may be placed on such events in some municipalities in the region as the government attempts to limit the spread of the virus without being forced to impose blanket lockdowns again.