MIRIAM ELIES, BARCELONA 17/07/2020
The Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, at the press conference this Friday (Barcelona City Council)
Ada Colau has criticized the late action of the Catalan Government in the management of new outbreaks of coronavirus registered in Catalonia in recent weeks. The Mayor of Barcelona has applauded the recommendation this Friday by the health authorities on the application of voluntary restriction measures, but has censured that “the Govern arrived late to Lleida and was late to the metropolitan area.”
After the meeting of the municipal monitoring committee of Covid-19, and in a press conference accompanied by the first deputy mayor, Jaume Collboni, and the Minister of Health, Gemma Tarafa, Colau regretted “having reached that situation “And has encouraged both the administration and the population to” work at their best and do whatever is needed”.
Likewise, she has urged the Generalitat to “not to give up” and not limit itself to requesting restrictive measures from the citizens, alleging that there is community transmission, but to focus on reinforcing the health system and the contagion tracking network to contain outbreaks.
The majority of infections have occurred in family and friends encounters
Colau has clarified that today Barcelona is not confined, but has asked “once again a great effort” to the population to comply with the recommendations indicated by the Department of Health.
In the last three weeks, the cases registered in the metropolitan area have gone from 164 to over 400. From Monday to today, there are already 414 reported infections, a figure that indicates that over the next few days the 497 registered cases last week will be exceeded.
As for the recommendations issued by the Catalan Government, with which there have been discrepancies from town hall, she stressed that the key element is to reduce the social life of proximity, “the most informal, that of meetings with friends and family and leisure situations informal, where the distances and the mask are not maintained ”. “It is in this area where the majority of cases of contagion occurs,” she said. “Whatever you do, do it with your innermost circle. In the next few days, reduce your social life with our closest environment. Let’s avoid meeting different nuclei of coexistence ”.
The city council will ask for exceptions for events like the Grec Festival and the Cruïlla XXS
The mayor has assessed that, taking into account where the infections are taking place and regardless of what the judicial authority says, the prohibition of meetings of more than 10 people is positive. Instructions have already been given from town hall so that as of this Saturday weddings and funeral ceremonies cannot be held with a larger capacity.
In the area of leisure, culture and entertainment, the city council has asked to be able to give the green light to the events allowed under sanitary recommendations because no outbreaks associated with these activities have been detected, so she will request exceptions to celebrate the Festival. Grec, Cruïlla XXS, les Nits del Fòrum and Sala Barcelona. It will also considered the opening of theaters and cinemas and will be requested for those sports and commercial activities in which sanitary measures are guaranteed. “I have no doubt that we will get out of this one,” she concluded.
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