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The Junta de Andalucía has announced that the perimeter closures will be lifted this Friday (19th) after a decrease in the rates of infection – joining Tarifa and San Martín del Tesorillo. However, Algeciras and Castellar will remain closed off for at least another week.
The Junta de Andalucía claim that the harsh measures implemented during the “third wave” of Covid-19 in the region have worked. The “incidence rate” (rate of infection) has seen a considerable reduction throughout the Campo de Gibraltar – mobility through La Línea, San Roque, Los Barrios and Jimena will recommence this Friday (19th February), joining Tarifa and San Martin del Tesorillo, which have been open since last week.
This was decreed by the Junta de Andalucía’s Department of Health on Thursday afternoon following a meeting of the “Public Health Alert Committee of Cádiz” after an analysis of the new data found the spread has slowed down.
The “incidence rate” is now below 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in six of the eight Campo de Gibraltar municipalities. The perimeter closure will come to an end as from Friday, 19th as published in the BOJA (the Official Gazette of the Junta de Andalucía).
According to the figures presented to the Junta this Thursday, the Campo de Gibraltar has recorded 60 new cases and three “Covid deaths” in the past 24 hours.
Algeciras has registered 37 new positives; 7 have been recorded in La Línea; 8 in Los Barrios; 6 in San Roque; and one in Tarifa and Castellar respectively. In the past 24 hours, two deaths have been recorded in Algeciras and one in La Línea.
La Línea, which has been suffering a perimeter closure since the beginning of the year, now has an “incidence rate” of 246.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants – a drastic reduction when compared with 2,550 during its peak this year. Last Saturday, “non-essential” retail and hospitality businesses reopened after enduring weeks of a brutal lockdown.
Reactions to the improvement in the incidence of Covid from the municipal authorities of some of these localities have been swift; these been difficult weeks throughout the Campo de Gibraltar.
San Roque, which has recorded 41 deaths since the start of the pandemic, has seen its “incidence rate” drop over the last week from 335.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants to 262.9 this Thursday: a reduction of 72. Points in a week. It should be remembered that San Roque’s highest rate was 1,835 – so this represents an 85% reduction – thus all of San Roque and its districts and Sotogrande are leaving the perimeter closure behind.
“We must continue to maintain public health standards so that we lower this even more”, said Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix, Mayor of San Roque as he called for prudence and caution.
The Mayor of Los Barrios, Miguel Alconchel, was celebrating the good news and recalled that this will mark the first week without a perimeter closure since January 3rd. Given the new situation, freedom of movement will be possible in Los Barrios, except for people coming from Castellar and Algeciras.
Alconchel has however also called for caution via his Facebook profile: “continue with the security measures we have in place. Do not become complacent for a week, our entrepreneurs need much more than this”.
As for Jimena de la Frontera, the incidence rate is now at 372, 7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
San Martín del Tesorillo and Tarifa, which recovered mobility a week ago, have registered an incidence rate of 178.5 and 181.5, respectively this Thursday.
Algeciras and Castellar to Continue with the Perimeter Closure for Another Week
The perimeter closure will continue for at least another 7 days in Algeciras, whose incidence rate is now at 550.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants; as will Castellar de la Frontera, which stands at 621. Of course, due to the reduction in cases, Castellar has been able to reopen “non-essential” shops and its catering industry.
The Mayor of Castellar, Adrián Vaca has acknowledged this situation and has called on its citizens to not lower their guard “because the coronavirus continues to spread. All precautions must remain, including compliance with all the sanitary measures”.
He has also requested more security and reinforcements to ensure that the perimeter closure is not breached.
The Campo de Gibraltar has Recorded 400 “Covid Deaths”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Campo de Gibraltar has recorded 17,421 covid infections and 402 deaths which Spanish politicians say serve to reinforce the importance of complying with safety measures.
It should also be remembered that although the perimeter closure has been lifted in almost the entire Campo de Gibraltar, bars and restaurants will close at six in the afternoon and that the curfew is maintained from ten at night to six in the morning.
Although perimeter closures have been lifted throughout most of the Campo de Gibraltar, bars and restaurants must close at 6 PM and then there is a 10 PM curfew until 6 AM.
