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article_detail
Date Published: 05/07/2020
ARCHIVED - Catalan Government confines 200,000 residents as Covid outbreak intensifies
Just four hours notice was given for people to move in and out of the comarca before barriers were erected and movement prohibited
On June 21st the state of emergency in Spain concluded, permitting free movement around the country and ending one of the strictest lockdowns in the world.
On Saturday the regional Government of the Region of Catalonia became the first to re-impose a lock down on a geographical area to try and contain a series of outbreaks originating with the agricultural sector and migratory nature of this workforce.
The regional government of Catalonia, the Generalitat, announced on Saturday lunchtime that it would be confining the 200,000 inhabitants of the Lleida comarca of Segrià, which encompasses 38 municipalities, including the provincial capital of Lleida.
This area lies within the southern part of the province, and covers approximately 1,400 square kilometres, bordering with Huesca ( Aragón) and Zaragoza provinces, both of which have also reported high numbers of cases in the last two weeks.
This area has been badly hit by outbreaks, principally related to the migration of agricultural workers working cross-border between France and Spain, a sector which has seen significant numbers of outbreaks due to a major situation which occurred in France involving hundreds of cases within a migratory workforce. This has resulted in several localised outbreaks across Spain, with workers returning home after completing contracts in France.
There are nine active outbreaks within the comarca and in just one week, 365 positive cases have been registered in the province.
The number of cases in the Lleida province to date is 4,030 and the health department notified 155 new cases on Saturday just in Lleida, and 400, across Catalonia, double the number reported on Friday. The outbreaks are mainly related to the agricultural sector, and have been detected in four fruit companies, a food firm, a residence for the elderly, a residential block, and a hostel for homeless people
In the main hospital complex of Lleida capital, the Arnau de Vilanova, there are currently 21 people hospitalized (triple the number 15 days ago) and six in intensive care.
On Thursday the situation in Lleida had started to become serious and in anticipation of an upsurge, additional areas of the hospital were prepared for Covid cases and a field hospital erected alongside the hospital.In spite of this the regional health ministry denied that a lockdown was imminent or even under consideration on Friday.
Health personnel admit to being already exhausted after the stress of the last few months. José Luis Morales, head of the coronavirus unit at the Arnau hospital in Vilanova de Lleida, summed up the feelings of the hospital staff involved saying in a radio interview: “It is like having run a marathon and then when you reach the finish line they tell you that you have to start another “.
First lockdown since Spain left the state of emergency
"In recent hours there has been a considerable increase in infections, forcing us to take this measure," said Quim Torra, regional president, "We must take precautionary measures," he said, refusing to rule out that other lockdowns would follow..
The confinement of Lleida is not domiciliary, ie, residents are not confined to their homes, and shops, bars and restaurants will remain open and businesses can continue to function as normal. But meetings of more than 10 people are prohibited and the Ministry of Health has forbidden family visits to nursing homes. Public transport will continue to operate in order to guarantee essential services are able to function and normal daily life can continue as far as possible.
Entry and exit from the confined area is prohibited, except for those who have to drive in and out in order to go to work.
The regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra set up 25 perimeter control points to control access in and out of the confined area which began operations at 4pm, just 4 hours after the announcement. The highways and freeways that pass through the territory, such as the AP7 and the A2, however, are not affected for motorists travelling through the area, although there are checkpoints for traffic exiting into the controlled area.
Residents on holiday given just four hours to get back home
The regional Government announced the confinement at 12 midday, giving non-residents four hours in which to leave and residents who were outside of the confinement area four hours in which to return home. After that deadline police controls were put in place preventing any further movement in or out of the area.
Some second home owners had already left the area and gone to their holiday properties on the Costa Dorada and there was a mad panic to try and get back before the deadline. The area of Salou is particularly popular with residents of Lleida, many of whom own holiday apartments in the resort and were on the beach when mobile phones started ringing advising them of the lockdown. Some had only driven to their apartments on Friday following denials that there would be a new lockdown.
Some opted to stay on the coast, although at the moment no timeframe has been specified for when the confinement will end; the initial period set by the Lleida court, which ratified the measure adopted by the Government under Article 8.6 of the Law on Administrative Contentious Jurisdiction, limited the period to 15 days although the regional Government indicated that the confinement could be extended should this be necessary.
It is ironic that Catalonia should become the first area of Spain to re-impose a compulsory Covid confinement following the cessation of the state of emergency; the Catalan Government has been highly critical of the crisis management of the Spanish Government throughout the lockdown and the regional government took the decision to remove Catalonia from the state of emergency immediately after the National Health Ministry permitted the region to move into phase 3 of de-escalation, giving it the power to leave the lockdown measures operated by the remainder of the country and take matters into its own hands.
The Catalan Government immediately moved to permit free movement throughout its provinces, allowing residents of areas such as Lleida to go to holiday apartments on the coast, ignoring warnings from the national Government and Ministry of Health.
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