Date Published: 09/03/2021
ARCHIVED - Only two municipalities are confined in the Region of Murcia this week
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Caravaca and Puerto Lumbreras are the only two municipalities in the extreme risk categories
Bars remain partially open but the night-time curfew continues
The latest weekly meeting of the Region of Murcia Covid Monitoring Committee on Monday ended with the decision that the pandemic restrictions will remain in place as they have been for the last week, with only two of the 45 municipalities in Murcia considered to be at “extreme risk” levels of contagion and therefore being subjected to stricter measures.
At the same time, the restrictions on movement remain the same: the curfew runs from 22.00 every evening until 6.00 the following morning, the perimeter closure of the regional border remains in place and the boundaries of the two “extreme risk” municipalities - Puerto Lumbreras and Caravaca de la Cruz - remain closed for all but essential travel.
In Puerto Lumbreras and Caravaca, it is still prohibited for bars and restaurants to welcome clients indoors, but elsewhere in the Region interior areas may be occupied up to 30 per cent of capacity although eating and drinking at the bar is forbidden and no more than two people from different households should sit at any one table.
On outdoor terraces, the limit per table is four people and the terrace may be occupied to full capacity.
Apart from the “extreme risk” areas, “very high risk” levels of infection are still present in San Pedro del Pinatar, Librilla, Cieza and Ricote, while the risk is “médium to high” in Ceutí, Torre Pacheco, Abarán, Alhama de Murcia, San Javier, Archena, Fuente Álamo, Yecla, Blanca, Totana, Lorca and Beniel.
This leaves over half of the Region in “low risk” territory, including most of the most heavily populated municipalities. The 27 included in this category are Murcia, Cartagena, Molina de Segura, Mazarrón, Mula, Santomera, Jumilla, Cehegín, Alcantarilla, Los Alcázares, Águilas, Villanueva del Río Segura, Abanilla, Calasparra, Bullas, Pliego, La Unión, Las Torres de Cotillas, Fortuna, Lorquí, Alguazas, Moratalla, Ojós, Campos del Rio, Albudeite, Ulea and Aledo.
As for the much-debated topic of what restrictions will be in place over the Easter holidays, the regional authorities in Murcia are waiting until after Wednesday’s meeting of the Inter-territorial Health Committee to tailor their policies to those agreed nationwide.
In the meantime, the efforts to speed up the vaccination continue this week with the intention being to provide the first dose to around 2,000 schoolteachers per day as well as continuing to immunize police and Guardia Civil officers and firefighters. At the same time over 14,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine are being distributed for administration to those aged over 80, and the latest data now show that in the Region of Murcia 147,188 vaccine doses have been administered.
These include over 51,000 patients who have received both doses, meaning that a total of just over 95,000 people in Murcia have received at least one jab: this equates to 6.5 per cent of the population.