ARCHIVED - Totana locked down as 44 Covid positives are registered

The Murcian regional government has ordered that Totana returns to phase one confinement following Covid outbreak

The Murcia Regional Government has decreed that the municipality of Totana, in the south-west of the Murcia Region, must return to Phase 1 of the de-escalation process and be confined, due to the escalation of the outbreak relating to the Pub Dubai which has now reached a total of 55 cases, 44 of them diagnosed in the last 24 hours and which will be included in the daily case totals for Thursday.

This outbreak is linked to the Atalayas outbreak in the City of Murcia which itself accounted for 62 cases yesterday and relates to nocturnal leisure venues frequented by the younger generation, all of which have been closed down. On Tuesday the regional government passed legislation relating to this type of establishment prohibiting the opening of any nocturnal leisure venues and discos which did not have external space, and limiting the use of internal venues until 10pm; after 10pm only venues with outdoor seating are permitted to remain open.

More than 300 people who drunk in the Pub Dubai in Totana over the weekend of 10th and 11th July have been tested during the last 48 hours, but the fear is that the individuals who were in the bar themselves have now returned to families and friends, gone to work and continued their daily business without realising that they are contagious, hence the decision to confine the municipality in the expectation that case numbers will increase once friends and family start to show symptoms.

The Atalayas outbreak itself is also part of the larger-scale "Bolivian outbreak" which relates back to three Bolivian nationals, residents of the Murcia Region, who returned to Spain on June 3rd via a flight through Barajas Airport in Madrid. They are known to have drunk in the Atalayas zone, seeding the current outbreak. The "Bolivian case" has resulted in more than 150 quarantines and dozens of cases in different areas of the region during the last month, all stemming out from the leisure venues in Atalayas and drinkers from different areas of the region who gathered in these venues.

One person is confirmed to have died in the outbreak; a 98 year old woman from Moratalla in the north-west of the region, infected by a family member who was linked into this contagions chain.

Totana borders with Mula to the north via the Sierra Espuña, Alhama de Murcia to the east, Mazarrón and Lorca to the south and Aledo to the west nad has a population of around 30,000.

The announcement was made by the regional Minister for Health, Manuel Villegas, following a meeting of the regional Covid Monitoring Committee.

Residents of the municipality will be confined and are only permitted to leave the municipality in the case of extreme necessity.

Conversely, non-residents will not permitted to enter the municipality, so this means shopping in Totana or visiting tourist attractions such as La Bastida will not be possible during the period of confinement.

Return to phase one includes the following restrictions:
- Gatherings are limited to 10 people
- Restaurants and bars are only permitted to open to external terrace areas to a maximum of 50% capacity and not open internal spaces and must close by midnight, with last entry at 23.30.
- Shops under 400 square metres are the only ones permitted to open to full capacity, the remainder may only admit 30% of their capacity
- Visits to the elderly or those in at risk groups is not permitted
- Residents are not confined to their homes but may not leave the municipality

The health centres have been closed and put on a code red alert level, which means that they are not open for general surgery, only to attend to Covid cases and any urgent cases.

The centros de día for the elderly have been closed and restrictions placed on visits to the residencias for the elderly.

If you live in the municipality and believe you may have contracted Covid, call 112 for a test.

Cases are expected to increase significantly in the municipality during the next few days.

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