- Region
- Águilas
- Alhama de Murcia
- Jumilla
- Lorca
- Los Alcázares
- Mazarrón
- San Javier
-
ALL AREAS & TOWNS
- AREAS
- SOUTH WEST
- MAR MENOR
- MURCIA CITY & CENTRAL
- NORTH & NORTH WEST
- TOWNS
- Abanilla
- Abarán
- Aguilas
- Alamillo
- Alcantarilla
- Aledo
- Alhama de Murcia
- Archena
- Balsicas
- Blanca
- Bolnuevo
- Bullas
- Cañadas del Romero
- Cabo de Palos
- Calasparra
- Camping Bolnuevo
- Campo De Ricote
- Camposol
- Canada De La Lena
- Caravaca de la Cruz
- Cartagena
- Cehegin
- Ceuti
- Cieza
- Condado de Alhama
- Corvera
- Costa Cálida
- Cuevas De Almanzora
- Cuevas de Reyllo
- El Carmoli
- El Mojon
- El Molino (Puerto Lumbreras)
- El Pareton / Cantareros
- El Raso
- El Valle Golf Resort
- Fortuna
- Fuente Alamo
- Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
- Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
- Isla Plana
- Islas Menores & Mar de Cristal
- Jumilla
- La Azohia
- La Charca
- La Manga Club
- La Manga del Mar Menor
- La Pinilla
- La Puebla
- La Torre
- La Torre Golf Resort
- La Unión
- Las Palas
- Las Ramblas
- Las Ramblas Golf
- Las Torres de Cotillas
- Leiva
- Librilla
- Lo Pagan
- Lo Santiago
- Lorca
- Lorquí
- Los Alcázares
- Los Balcones
- Los Belones
- Los Canovas
- Los Nietos
- Los Perez (Tallante)
- Los Urrutias
- Los Ventorrillos
- Mar De Cristal
- Mar Menor
- Mar Menor Golf Resort
- Mazarrón
- Mazarrón Country Club
- Molina de Segura
- Moratalla
- Mula
- Murcia City
- Murcia Property
- Pareton
- Peraleja Golf Resort
- Perin
- Pilar de la Horadada
- Pinar de Campoverde
- Pinoso
- Playa Honda
- Playa Honda / Playa Paraíso
- Pliego
- Portmán
- Pozo Estrecho
- Puerto de Mazarrón
- Puerto Lumbreras
- Puntas De Calnegre
- Region of Murcia
- Ricote
- Roda Golf Resort
- Roldan
- Roldan and Lo Ferro
- San Javier
- San Pedro del Pinatar
- Santiago de la Ribera
- Sierra Espuña
- Sucina
- Tallante
- Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
- Torre Pacheco
- Totana
- What's On Weekly Bulletin
- Yecla
- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Alicante Today Andalucia Today
ARCHIVED - The EU asks member states to strongly discourage travel
The EU wants areas of high incidence isolated (which would currently include Spain) and movement limited both within and between these areas stopped
By now, it is completely clear that mobility facilitates the spread of coronavirus, and as the number of more virulent and potentially more dangerous variants increases, the need to prevent their spread makes it increasingly important that movement around the world be controlled in order to minimise the risk of spreading dangerous variants from country to country and protect the vulnerable population.
However, this also brings up many questions about the ethics of containment and the right to block movement, points which the EU is attempting to navigate whilst also balancing the economic implications of limiting movement with the need to protect human life.
Last Thursday EU Heads of State and Governments held a virtual meeting to discuss the key issues of managing the pandemic, and has now issued its recommendations, part of which focuses on the topic of mobility.
The European Commission has asked its 27 member states to take more measures to "strongly discourage" travel both within member states and between them and to third countries, to try to contain the contagion of new coronavirus variants, as well as calling for the creation of a new "dark red" category to identify the areas of greatest risk within Europe where the average incidence rate exceeds 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, as per the map shown.
"The first recommendation is not to travel," said the Interior Commissioner, the Swedish Socialist Ylva Johansson.
Although heads of state were in agreement that further measures were needed, the 27 were unable to agree whether travel between member states should be halted or if all external borders should be closed. “It is of great importance not to travel, but you cannot immediately enforce this legally,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, explaining that although most member states understood the need to reduce movement, they were unwilling to prevent it, but accepted it was vital to re-enforce the message that travel should not take place. “It is essential that we discourage travel in Europe as much as possible. Don’t travel, simply don’t travel,” he said.
Several points were raised during the meeting as the 27 tried to co-ordinate a response to the issues affecting all members,the key challenge being preserving the Single Market and free movement whilst also stepping up mitigation measures, the key points of agreement being that:
• Measures should be applied to further reduce the risk of transmission linked to the means of travel, such as hygiene and distancing measures in vehicles and terminuses.
• All non-essential travel should be strongly discouraged until the epidemiological situation has considerably improved.
• Proportionate travel restrictions, including testing of travellers, should be maintained for those travelling from areas with a higher incidence of variants of concern.
Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, said: “The emergence of new variants of the virus and substantial rises in cases leave us no room for complacency. Now more than ever must come a renewed determination for Europe to act together with unity, coordination and vigilance. Our proposals today aim to protect more lives and livelihoods later and relieve the burden on already stretched health care systems and workers. This is how the EU will come out of the crisis.”
The creation of a new “dark-red” classification aims to identify high incidence areas; when the dark-red color is incorporated into the risk classification that the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) periodically publishes there are a dozen countries that would already have part of their territory tinted dark red, including virtually all of Spain and Portugal!
In fact, should the recommendations be applied as is hoped, 70% of Spanish regional governments would ask residents not to travel at all, would ask them to stay at home, leaving only for essential purposes and would close non-essential shops and services.
Brussels does not have competences in health matters or border management, so can only issue recommendations to member states, but will begin negotiations at a technical level with the member states today to achieve a consensus "as soon as possible" that the 27 commit to follow, although the national authorities will continue to have the last word whether to apply the recommendations or not.
Brussels believes that unnecessary displacements "should not occur at all" from or to countries that exceed the threshold of 500 infections per 100,000 across a period of fourteen days, and recommends that people who travel on trips deemed "essential" undergo a PCR test before departure and adhere to a strict fourteen-day quarantine upon arrival.
Last week the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), itself urged the countries of the European Union to strengthen measures to discourage "non-essential" travel, albeit ensuring that the free movement of essential and cross-border goods and workers will be maintained is also requesting member states to "maintain or reinforce" severe measures such as the principle of staying at home or the temporary closure of businesses in places where the risk of contagion is considered to be very high, although it also stresses that it is essential to strengthen tracing and testing to improve control of the pandemic and the sequencing of new cases.
In the UK this weekend there was a great deal of discussion about when the lockdown would end and whether it would be possible to book holidays for this coming summer, but with cases so high all across Europe and fear about the spread of new variants, waiting to see what course the pandemic takes and not travelling unnecessarily at the moment really is the best option.
The Commission also insists on the need for a common passenger form, but this proposal is still under development due to legal complications, as it implies requiring travellers to provide certain personal data that would later be shared with the rest of the member states.
Cartagena
El Carmoli
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Manga del Mar Menor
La Puebla
La Torre Golf Resort
La Union
Los Alcazares
Los Belones
Los Nietos
Los Urrutias
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Pilar de la Horadada
Playa Honda / Playa Paraiso
Portman
Roldan and Lo Ferro
San Javier
San Pedro del Pinatar
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
Torre Pacheco
Aledo
Alhama de Murcia
Bolnuevo
Camposol
Condado de Alhama
Fuente Alamo
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Lorca
Mazarron
Puerto de Mazarron
Puerto Lumbreras
Sierra Espuna
Totana
Abaran
Alcantarilla
Archena
Blanca
Corvera
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Lorqui
Molina de Segura
Mosa Trajectum
Murcia City
Peraleja Golf Resort
Ricote
Sucina
Condado de Alhama
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Torre Golf Resort
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Mazarron Country Club
Mosa Trajectum
Peraleja Golf Resort
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
La Zenia
Lomas de Cabo Roig
CAMPOSOL TODAY Whats OnCartagena SpainCoronavirusCorvera Airport MurciaMurcia Gota Fria 2019Murcia property news generic threadWeekly Bulletin