Murcia Today Weekly Bulletin 5th December

Spain Covid:

This week there is a lot of positive news relating to the evolution of the coronavirus crisis here in Spain, as although new cases are continuing to emerge around the country, there is a pronounced deceleration in the spread of the virus and a noticeable easing of pressure on the health service, and of course, good news about the arrival of a vaccine.

Throughout the week the number of new cases in Spain has been slowly reducing: at the end of the week the Ministry of Health had reported a total of 1,684,647 cases since the pandemic began, a rise of just 56,439 new cases in the last week. This is still a considerable number of new cases and shows that the virus remains entrenched in many locations across Spain but is a considerable improvement on the figures reported in previous weeks. A month ago the weekly total was 143,154, the week after 129,759, followed by 98,139, then 70,478 last week; a positive downwards evolution which is being maintained and consolidated.

This gradual fall in the number of new cases being reported has reduced the accumulated incidence rate over the last 14 days, calculated based on the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which today stands at 231, compared to 307 last week, 419 the week before and 498 the week before that. All positive news.

The graphic shows the number of new cases in Spain

By region, this is the current AI level across the country per 100,000 of population over 14 days; the rate has fallen in all regions of Spain this week except the Balearics and Canary Islands which have reported very small rises:

Asturias 344; Basque Country 342; La Rioja, 340; Aragón 302; Cantabria 302; Castilla y León 295; Castilla la Mancha 250; Navarra 233; Valencia Region 232; Andalucía 229; Madrid 224; Catalonia 208; Extremadura 202; Galicia 199; Murcia 192; (the two sets of offshore islands) Balearic Islands 204; Canary Islands 86. Ceuta 227; Melilla with 344 (both of these enclaves on the African coastline);

The rate increased in the Balearic islands by just one point, and in the Canary Islands by 9 points.

The gradual decrease does permit optimism, but the objectives of the Ministry of Health, reducing the accumulated incidence over 14 days to 60 cases, and over 7 days to 25, is still some distance away.

The graphic clearly shows the difference between the deaths in the first and second waves.

Fatalities:
The week has concluded with a total of 46,252 fatalities, giving a total of 1,584 compared to the week before, when there were 2,049 deaths, and is the lowest weekly total for a month. As can be clearly seen from the graphic, the number of deaths remains at a much lower level than the spring, although this second wave is spread across a much longer period and will foreseeably continue for some weeks to come.

Pressure on the hospital system:
Logically, the pressure exerted on the health system by this level of cases remains high, but the situation has improved slightly this week nationally on the general covid wards, and in intensive care; Last week there were 14,819 patients hospitalised with more severe cases of covid, 17,963 the week before and 20,239 the week before that; this week the total has fallen to 12,552.

Last Friday the bed occupancy was 11.95% and 14.52 % the week before that; this Friday the figure is 10.13% reflecting a continued easing of hospital pressure.

In intensive care units, the situation has also improved; The national average for ICU beds last Friday was 28.44% and 31.02% the week before; this Friday it's 24.64%, with 2,371 patients in a serious condition.

On Friday 1,088 patients were admitted to hospitals, but 1,500 were discharged, so although there is a continuous flow in and out, the numbers are gradually reducing.

As has been the case right through the pandemic, some regions are coping better than others; the highest occupancies in ICU units are in La Rioja with 46%, Aragón with 39%, Asturias 37%, Castilla y León with 36% and Catalunya 31%.

In terms of general bed occupancy by Covid patients, the highest occupancy is in Asturias with 22%, followed by Castilla y León with 15% the Basque Country with 14%, La Rioja 13% and Aragón 12%. Murcia now has the second lowest rate in the country with 6.76% general occupancy and 15.89% in ICU units.

The worst pressure remains in the north and centre of the country; the Mediterranean regions faring better, with lower levels of cases and hospitalisations.

The situation has improved in every region this week.

However, and there’s always a however, we are now enjoying a Bank Holiday weekend which stretches across four days in most regions of Spain, and all regional governments are extremely worried that there will be a rise in infections within a week, as has been the case following every Bank Holiday in this second wave.

The health services and regional governments of every region have issued warning after warning about the dangers of social contact this weekend, but we know from data produced by the health ministry that 6 out of every 10 contagions are being traced back to private gatherings behind closed doors. The police have admitted that they can´t even begin to enforce the regulations limiting the size of groups gathering to the permitted level of 6, and in spite of all the deaths and misery this virus is causing, people continue to ignore the rules and keep gathering in larger family groups, sparking off outbreaks.

This is happening all over the country and every week there are endless reports of private parties and illegal gatherings.

The biggest peak of this second wave occurred immediately after the All Saints and All Souls Bank Holiday weekend, so there is serious concern that the same thing will happen again, although the authorities are hoping that the carrot promising relaxations in the restrictions over the festive period providing case numbers continue to fall, will encourage more responsible behaviour this weekend.
 

Restrictions:

One of the biggest issues facing the authorities as they attempt to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control is the continued resistance by members of the public to complying with the required restrictions and every week across Spain there are dozens of reports similar to this one published by Alicante police relating to their efforts to enforce the basic preventative restrictions: Alicante police break up 5 parties and impose 28 denuncias for covid-related infractions

2 cyclists killed in collision with car driven by 80-year-old pandemic restriction breaker. The driver in the province of Barcelona faces a fine for leaving his home municipality as well as causing 2 deaths by dangerous driving. Click to read

Catalan doctors warn of the dangers of coronavirus negationists."Frivolous conspiracy theories" could contribute to a third wave, leading medics warn.Leading medical practitioners in Barcelona have issued a warning that those who rail against the restrictions currently in place on movement and social gatherings could represent a danger to public health, encouraging others to disregard the measures which have been designed to slow the second wave of coronavirus contagion and to prevent a third wave.Basing their opinions on conspiracy theories related to the loss of personal freedom caused by restrictions designed to counter the spread of the pandemic, negationists are calling for the curfew to be abandoned and other restrictions to be lifted. In an attempt to justify their fear that Spain is becoming a “police state”, some even claim that official figures show that fewer people have died in this country this year than in 2019: in reality, anyone can check in under a minute on the website of the government’s central statistics unit and see that the number of deaths was 18.7 per cent higher than last year in the first 45 weeks of 2020.Click to read

Risk of third wave of Covid in Spain leads to caution over Christmas de-escalation.Warning signs are flashing insistently following a busy weekend with city centres packed as shoppers flocked to see the Christmas lights.

Last weekend saw the switching on of Christmas lights in the streets of numerous major cities, and it was alarming to see large crowds of people, some without face masks, enjoying the spectacle (and venturing out to hunt for Black Friday bargains) in Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza and Málaga among others. The result has been a rapid change in the tone of the messages being transmitted by political leaders, who are calling for responsible behaviour on the part of both the authorities and members of the public rather than clamouring for the right to enjoy festive dinners in large family groups over the festive season.

The warnings are based on the experiences of cities such as Zaragoza, where the Fiestas del Pilar in mid-October were followed by a sharp spike in coronavirus case numbers, while in Italy the fear of a third wave is so great that the government has already announced that the curfew will not be lifted or relaxed on the grounds that to relax restrictions now could lead to a “massacre”. Slightly less dramatic but equally cautious is the message given by Pedro Sánchez, that the best Christmas present the government can give this year is safety, rather than permission to organize large family gatherings.

Whether the Spanish are ready to listen to such warnings will be put to the test over the coming weekend, which is a long one due to there being national holidays on Sunday 6th and Tuesday 8th December and many people creating a “bridge” with a day off on Monday. Juanma Moreno, the president of the regional government in Andalucía, reiterated on Sunday that “it is in our hands” to avoid the dreaded third wave, while the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, adds that it is possible to enjoy the city and its lights while at the same time remaining cautious and responsible.In this context it is worth remembering that the incidence rate of COvid-19 is still far too high for comfort. When the national state of emergency accompanying the first wave of the pandemic was lifted on 21st June the 14-day rate stood at 8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, whilst despite the recent improvement the data on 30th November showed a rate of 275: thirty-four times higher than just over 5 months ago and eleven times the target of 25 which has been mentioned by the government.

Saliva-based Covid testing developed at Valencia research institute. Click for full article. The Príncipe Felipe Research Centre (CIPF) based in Valencia reports that it has developed a reliable, affordable and non-invasive method of detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus in saliva, allowing the presence of the virus to be confirmed at a very early stage and in small quantities.

A team of specialists has been working for months on establishing techniques which are less invasive (and less uncomfortable for patients) than the nasal-pharyngeal swabs which are generally used. Some saliva testing techniques have already been given emergency approval by the FDA in the USA, including the "SalivaDirect" technique developed at the University of Yale, while the method has been the subject of study at numerous European research centres.

Apart from the advantages of saliva testing mentioned above, it is also worth pointing out that it necessitates less physical interaction between healthcare professionals and patients: those being tested can extract their own saliva sample and deliver it at their local health centre in a sealed container, and this represents a considerable improvement in the effectiveness of test and trace programs. The upshot of all of these characteristics is that the technique makes it possible to test more people in a shorter period of time, thus increasing the chances of preventing further contagion.

Doctor Deborah Burks of the CIPF explains that due to it being less uncomfortable for patients the method is particularly useful for testing children and can be adapted for mass screening programs.

Opening of new pandemic hospital in Madrid met with protest not praise. Health workers demand investment in medical staff rather than construction projects.Click to read

Vaccinations:

First Covid vaccines expected to roll-out in January across Spain. Click to read full article

The chink of light at the end of the tunnel appears to be getting larger and brighter as 2020 nears its end and testing and authorization procedures are accelerated for the coronavirus vaccines which have been developed since the start of the pandemic, and in Spain the Ministry of Health is hoping for the best Three Kings present possible in early January with the arrival if the first doses in this country.

That vaccines are on the point of becoming available under a year after Sars-Cov-2 was first detected in Europe is due not only to the extraordinary efforts of pharmaceutical researchers throughout the world but also to the efforts to speed up the authorization procedures required for new medications in the EU, and these are to be further accelerated in order to make immunization possible in January.

EMA approval to be fast-tracked over the next six weeks
The task of approving the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is being approached by the European Medicines Agency with as much haste as possible, the intention being to issue authorization for the first of them on 29th December and the second on 12th January. This could lead to the first vaccinations in Spain taking place early in the new year (barring any last-minute hitches), making it possible to immunize at least 18 million people in this country.

In all, the EU has now closed deals to acquire almost 1,400 doses of different Covid Vaccines, of which the plan is to hold 600 million in reserve, and the proportion corresponding to Spain amounts to approximately 10 per cent. But Spain is also likely to take another 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine early in 2021 as the EU has an option to increase its order from 200 million to 300 million.

These and the Moderna vaccine are likely to form the bulk of the initial vaccination program, and clinical testing has given rates of 95 and 94.1 per cent effectiveness in the Pfizer and Moderna products respectively.

So confident is the EC that this can be made feasible and that no last-minute hitches are encountered that they are stating that vaccine doses will start to become available during January. This has been made possible by the decision to cut the 67-day period usually required after approval of new drugs is given by the European Medicines Agency to just 3 days before permission will be given for distribution and sale to begin.

As a result, all being well, authorization for the Pfizer vaccine could be in place on 29th December, and distribution could begin in the first week of January.

The three days will include consultations with all EU member states, and assuming that authorization is granted it will then be seen whether those states have taken on board the advice which was first issued during the summer, namely to ensure that they are fully prepared to administer the immunization campaign.

In Spain it has been announced that vaccines will be administered at 13,000 medical centres throughout the country.

At the same time the EC is keen to dispel doubts about the possible side-effects of a vaccine which has been developed so rapidly, guaranteeing that the development and testing of the new pharmaceutical products has been monitored minutely and that the vaccination process will be scrutinized in similar detail.

It is also worth adding that one of the reasons for the EMA not having given its authorization to the Pfizer vaccine earlier is that all of the scientific information generated during the process has to be translated into all of the official languages of the member states so that it can be consulted by their technical committees. In normal circumstances, each committee then has 22 days in which to submit its opinion on the matter, but in this case that time period has been reduced to just a single day.

Spanish Cabinet gives approval to the purchase of more than 52 million doses of the products developed by Moderna, Janssen and CureVac.Click to read full article

These purchases will supplement the agreements already reached with Pfizer and Astra Zéneca, whose vaccines are expected to become available in this country during 2021, and they reflect Spain’s continuing adherence to the buying policy adopted by the EU in the name of member states. The European Commission has so far reached purchase agreements with seven pharmaceutical companies, of which Spain has confirmed its participation in five.

Precise details have also been supplied by the Ministry of Health regarding the number of doses corresponding to Spain from the European Commission’s purchases: 20,875,725 doses of the Janssen vaccine, 8,348,979 doses of the Moderna product and 23,483,184 doses of the 225 million to be supplied to the EU by CureVac. Cabinet has also given permission to raise the budget for the Ministry of Health in order to make sure these purchases go ahead.

Health workers in Murcia Region begin training to administer covid vaccine. Training will begin next week in Murcia with a view to vaccinations beginning in January. When speaking of the plans to roll-out the vaccine, the regional president said that the recent flu vaccination campaign would be used as a basis from which to launch the programme; in seven weeks nearly 400,000 people have been vaccinated against flu in the region using the capillary network of existing health centres which will be amended and vaccination points amplified as necessary as the vaccines become available.Click to read full article

Owner of greyhound which died from coronavirus to be investigated for maltreatment: we know by now that dogs can catch coronavirus from humans but vets only identified this as the reason for the death of this animal when the Guardia Civíl was called in to investigate the appalling state of two greyhounds in Seville.

Economy:

 91,000 Spanish businesses have closed down since the start of the covid pandemic.

A report published this week by employment agency Asempleo concludes that the number of operational businesses in Spain had dropped by the end of October to levels last seen in 2015, following the closure of 91,000 concerns since the Covid pandemic reached the country in February of this year.

The agency reports that in the space of just two months between February and April the figure dropped by 6.9 per cent, while the hasty introduction of furlough schemes during the March lockdown contributed to a 22.1 per cent drop in the active workforce.

Since April a gradual improvement has been observed, but in the first two months of coronavirus restrictions small businesses with under 50 staff were those worst hit, 9 per cent of them being forced to close down. On the other hand, it is in the same category that the recovery has been most noticeable, with numbers climbing back up to 97.5 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

In terms of the sectors of the economy to suffer most during the on-going health crisis, it is not surprising to see that Asempleo identify the leisure industry as having lost most businesses (around 16 per cent) as well as 20 per cent of workers. At the same time 15 per cent of hospitality businesses are reported to have gone to the wall, the workforce in the sector dropping by 22 per cent.

In overall terms, this has led to a decrease in what the agency refers to as the “effective workforce” (i.e. those who are actually working, not including those in employment but on furlough leave). Two thirds of the jobs lost during the initial lockdown have been recovered, but the total is still 357,000 lower than it was before the pandemic reached Spain.

Record rise during November in the Spanish stock exchange index. Despite the level of coronavirus infection in Spain still running at high levels for most of November the news regarding vaccines has been among the factors leading to a general sense of optimism regarding the outlook for the future, and this was reflected by a record rise in the country’s leading stock market index, the Ibex 35.

The index closed on 30th November at 8,076.9 points following a rise of 25.18 per cent during the month, far greater than the previous most positive month of June 2012 (16.62 per cent). The result is a return at last to pre-pandemic levels, after the March lockdown brought about the sharpest ever monthly fall in the index (-22.21 per cent).

High unemployment likely to slow down the post-pandemic economic recovery in Spain.The OECD expects GDP to remain lower than last year in 2022, uncertainty haunts tourism and services sectors

Recent days have seen a surge of optimism throughout the world surrounding the imminent availability of the first coronavirus vaccines, but in economic terms numerous analysts are warning that the post-pandemic recovery in Spain is likely to be slower than in other western European countries and this week the OECD(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ) have added their voice to those forecasting a delayed bounce-back in this country.

The reasons cited in the latest six-monthly report published on Tuesday include the heavy dependence on the tourism and services sectors, both of which have suffered severely from the restrictions imposed by the national government and regional administrations since March and face great uncertainty over the future. In this context the latest estimation of OECD analysts is that Spain’s GDP will fall by 11.6 per cent this year and that the level of growth will be only around 5 per cent in 2021 and 4 per cent in 2022.

The figure of 11.6 per cent is higher than that predicted by the government (-9.2 per cent) but lower than the expectation of the European Commission (-12.4 per cent), and is the second most drastic decrease in economic activity among the G20 nations, being exceeded only by an expected drop of 12.9 per cent in Argentina: the prediction for the UK is a fall of 11.2 per cent.

At the same time, the OECD expects Spain to continue with a very high unemployment rate, ending this year at 15.8 per cent of the active population, almost two percentage points higher than a year ago. With the services and tourism sectors continuing to be vulnerable the rate is forecast to rise to 17.4 per cent by the end of next year before falling slightly to 16.9 per cent by the end of 2022, leading to a drop in consumer spending which will amount to 14 per cent this year. Click to read the full report

November increase takes unemployment in Spain up to 3.85 million.650,000 more jobless than a year ago as the pandemic hits the Spanish economy

Despite the rise in the incidence rate of Covid-19 in Spain during much of November the increase in unemployment remained close to what might be expected in “normal” conditions in the eleventh month of the year, the total rising by 25,269 to 3,851,382.

This represents a rise of 0.66 per cent during the month, but the year-on-year comparison illustrates all too clearly the effect of the pandemic: the downward trend which had been maintained for over five years has been abruptly curtailed and the figure is now 20.4 per cent (or over 650,000) higher than at the end of November 2019, reaching levels last seen in 2016.

On top of this, another 746,900 workers were still benefitting from ERTE furlough schemes at the end of the month, a figure which rose by more than 18,000 as restrictions on certain activities were re-introduced in an effort to curb the second wave of the pandemic, and the high unemployment rate is likely to slow down Spain’s economic recovery: the rate now stands at 16.2 per cent as opposed to only 8.4 per cent in the whole of the Eurozone, and only in Greece (16.8 per cent) is the situation worse. Click to read the full article

2.4 per cent rise in Murcia unemployment last month during the second wave of the pandemic.The jobless total in Murcia is now 20 per cent higher than a year ago.The latest unemployment figures published by the Ministry of Work on Wednesday report an increase of 2,781 (or 2.4 per cent) in the jobless total in the Region of Murcia during last month, taking the figure up to 120,608.Click for full information

Social security contributions rise for the self-employed in Spain at the end of a disastrous year.620,000 of Spain’s 3.2 million autónomos are currently not working and 85 per cent report a drop in income

In general terms 2020 has been an extremely difficult year for the more than 3.2 million self-employed workers in Spain, and the situation has not been made any easier by the implementation of increases in their social security contributions and other monthly costs as the year nears its end. Click to read full report

 90 day maximum stay in Spain post-Brexit subject of outrage in UK media:One headline shrieked” “Furious British expats blast EU's new post-Brexit travel rules which will ban them from spending more than three months at a time at their holiday home from January”.

It is understandable that for most of this year the countdown to Brexit becoming a reality has been pushed off the front pages of the papers by the coronavirus crisis, but with last-ditch attempts to salvage a deal still on-going in early December it seems incredible that only now are some UK nationals becoming aware of what the departure from the EU could actually mean for them in their own lives.

Among those who have been slow to realize that Brexit really does affect them directly are many “part-time residents” who divide their lives between the UK and an EU country where they have purchased a second home. As of 1st January 2021, Schengen rules will limit the amount of time they can spend in their overseas homes to 90 days at a time in those cases where they have not applied for full residency in the country of their European home.

Following 90 days in the EU they will be obliged to return to the UK for another 90 days before being allowed back into the EU, losing their freedom to stay for up to 180 days at a time, and now some have launched a last-minute campaign for the Schengen rules to be “tweaked” to create an exception for those who have formerly opted to spend longer periods in their second homes.

If this exception is not granted, some fear they will encounter problems in maintaining their properties abroad, while others including motorhome owners, backpackers and yacht owners will be obliged to apply for a visa if remaining in the EU for more than the stipulated 90 days.

Visa applications are not only time-consuming but also, of course, involve the payment of a fee.

Those who fail to obtain a visa and overstay their allotted time in the EU could face heavy fines, deportation or even a ban from the Schengen zone.

There are over half a million British second home owners throughout Europe, but those who are upset by the Schengen rules have received little encouragement from politicians, with modifications reported by MP Wendy Morton to be “not part of the UK approach to negotiations with the EU on our future relationship.”

This weekend really is crunch time as Boris Johnson and the EU President Ursula von der Leyen try to thrash out an agreement, but for many Brits, the "right" they currently enjoy of being able to visit Spain whenEver they wish and to spend as much time as they want to in their holiday homes without being forced to return to the UK is about to come to an abrupt end.

It is astonishing that so many UK nationals were unaware that this would one of the consequences of leaving the EU, but fairly typical that certain elements of the British media would totally mis-report the legalities of the situation and blow it up into an inaccurate attack on the EU, portraying British property owners as victims. Click to read the whole article

Spanish government studies 4-day working week proposal.A 32-hour week is dismissed as unworkable by the business community

The participation of the Juntas Podemos party in Spain’s current coalition government has contributed to a new willingness to consider drastic reforms to various aspects of the country’s way of life, and according to party leader Pablo Iglesias, one of the deputy Prime Ministers, the Ministry of Work is now studying the idea of introducing a 4-day working week.

The new-look week would consist of 32 hours, as opposed to the standard 37.5 hours which is currently the norm for public sector workers, and Sr Iglesias believes it would favour the creation of more jobs, an important consideration with the unemployment rate rising as the coronavirus pandemic rumbles on. At the same time, most people would doubtless jump at the chance to enjoy 3-day weekends every week and supporting the reform may win Pablo Iglesias a good deal of popularity.

But there are all kinds of problems involved, not least the fact that working fewer hours would, in most cases, mean earning less money.

For these and other reasons, the business community as a whole is radically opposed to the idea, most representatives dismissing it as unrealistic and urging Sr Iglesias to focus instead on the more immediate economic problems brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Lorenzo Amor of the ATA association of self-employed workers describes the proposal as “senseless” and impossible in the case of small businesses, where limited numbers of staff have to be committed to their work full time.

Nonetheless, Yolanda Díaz, the Minister for Work, accepts that it is time to consider new ways of structuring the working week while reiterating that the government’s only commitment at present is to studying and analysing the idea.Click to read full article

Murcia covid

The covid news for Murcia this week is all positive, and this week Murcia has once again become the region with the lowest rate of cases per 100,000 of population, a position it occupied right the way through the first wave.

At the beginning of November, the region was reporting an accumulated incidence rate of 900 over a 14 day period, a figure which this Friday is now 202. The 7 day figure has now fallen to 84, and the percentage of PCR tests returning a positive result has remained around 6.5% all week.

There are new cases of course, and outbreaks continue to be reported every day, but there has been a reduction in the number of new cases reported compared to previOus weeks. This week the total of new cases is 1762, compared to 1892 last week, 2,914 the week before and 5,487 the week before that.

Image; Evolution of cases in the Murcia Region

The evolution of the number of cases can clearly be seen in the graph above, which shows how the number of cases reported has fallen drastically in the last month.

Number of new cases in the last 7 and 14 days by municipality:
Note, the first figure shown is the actual number of cases diagnosed in the last 7 days, the second is the total in the last 14 days, and the third is the AI rate for the last 7 days:
Abanilla 18/26/293( This means 18 cases in the last 7 days, 26 cases in 14 days and an AI rate of 293 per 100,000 over the last 7 days)
Abarán 3/12/23
Águilas 29/55/82
Albudeite 0/6/0
Alcantarilla 15/55/35
Aledo 5/5/489
Los Alcázares 60/118/371
Alguazas 9/20/93
Alhama de Murcia 34/73/154
Archena 32/59/165
Beniel 4/10/35
Blanca 2/12/30
Bullas 2/10/17
Calasparra 11/37/108
Campos del Río 0/1/0
Caravaca de la Cruz 19/69/103
Cartagena 145/310/67
Cehegín 26/43/173
Ceutí 6/17/50
Cieza 37/58/105
Fortuna 5/14/49
Fuente Álamo 15/29/90
Jumilla 26/80/101
Librilla 3/4/56
Lorca 93/196/98
Lorquí 3/6/42
Mazarrón 39/89/121
Molina de Segura 25/93/34
Moratalla 2/10/25
Mula 2/21/11
Murcia 243/611/53
Ojós 0
Pliego 1/4/26
Puerto Lumbreras 23/57/149
Ricote 1/2/79
San Javier 38/113/117
San Pedro del Pinatar 24/58/94
Santomera 11/21/67
Torre Pacheco 96/171/269
Las Torres de Cotillas 7/29/32
Totana 54/154/168
Ulea 0/1/0
La Unión 6/24/29
Villanueva del Río Segura 0/2/0
Yecla 52/154/151

Fatalities:

The number of fatalities has fallen noticeably this week to 28 deaths compared to 63 last week, 73 the week before and 85 the week before that, the overall total now 624.

In the first wave  there were only 150 deaths in total, so this second wave has now harvested three times as many deaths as the first.

Hospitalisations:

Hospitalisations: The number of patients admitted with more severe cases of coronavirus fell to 326 on Friday. This downward motion was the same in Intensive Care Units (ICU), which fell from 82 to 78. In the last seven days, hospitalizations have fallen by 23%, while the number of patients in intensive care has been reduced by 16%. The total number in home isolation with milder cases fell to 3,697 (this figure reached 11,000 a month ago).

The total number of recoveries is just about to pass a landmark figure, being 49,869 and the total number of active cases as of Friday is 4,023, the sum total of which is that the region is on the right course, although there is still a long way to go.

Bars and restaurants in 40 municipalities will be permitted to open from Wednesday this week: the regional health authority confirmed on Monday that bars and restaurants in 40 municipalities would be permitted to open due to the falling rates of coronavirus infections. This leaves just 5 municipalities in which the rates are still considered to be too high for the restaurants to re-open.Yecla, Totana, Los Alcázares, Torre Pacheco and San Javier must wait until next Monday to see if their case numbers have dropped sufficiently to be permitted to open.

There was considerable anger from the associations representing businesses that bars were not permitted to open in these municipalities for the Bank Holiday weekend.

New Cartagena artwork pays tribute to coronavirus health workers: Click to read

Restrictions:

Thousands of Murcians are moving around at weekends and breaking covid mobility restrictions.Big Brother is watching; people don´t realise that their mobile phone signal shows where they are at any given moment and this data is being gathered by the National Statistics Institute.

The number of coronavirus cases reported in the Murcia Region is descending at an impressive rate thanks to the restrictions which have been imposed by the regional government, amongst them one restriction on crossing between municipal boundaries and another the closure of bars and restaurants.

But lack of police resources means that for the main part, residents are not actually being manually restrained from moving between municipalities, the net result being that whilst most of us are complying with the rules and “playing ball”, a large number of people are engaging in “border hopping”, and since bars and restaurants have been allowed to open in some municipalities and not in others, a great deal more “border hopping” has been going on, as residents cross between municipalities to enjoy a beer in a neighbouring municipality.

Now how do the authorities know for example, that last Sunday almost a thousand people travelled into the coastal municipality of Mazarrón from Totana, Cartagena and Lorca, or that 218 people from Bullas and 118 people from Alhama de Murcia went to Mula and Pliego, to which a total of 970 people travelled from other municipalities? Because their mobile phones recorded every movement and this data was gathered by the National Institute of Statistics and compiled into a report which is published twice weekly. Click to read full article

Murcian government plans to lift perimeter restrictions and re-open interior of bars. On Wednesday the  Murcian regional President said in the regional parliament that: "If the positive evolution continues, next week the perimeter closure in the Region of Murcia may be lifted", and if infections continue to decrease, "from the 9th we will be able to open the interior of the hospitality establishments in the region".Click to read .

His comments were echoed by the health Minister on Thursday and Friday, so hopefully a positive outcome will be the result of the meeting on Monday.

Other news Murcia:

Two injured as vehicle ploughs down embankment on the AP-7 in San Javier. Click to read

Firemen in San Javier called to voracious fire in vegetal waste recycling plant on Monday morning: Click to read

700 euro fine for Condado de Alhama resident who refused to turn down his music: 100 euros of the fine was for disrespecting the police who attended the call-out. Click to read

Torre Pacheco solidarity food collection for the needy this festive season. Until 18th December donations can be taken to Cáritas directly or to the radio Torre Pacheco solidarity Marathon in Torre Pacheco on 18th December: Click to read

Markets in Cartagena unaffected by Bank Holidays this weekend and on Monday/Tuesday: Click to read

 Mural of Roman port in Cartagena being given a facelift; as well as restoring some of the tile murals created by Ramon Alonso Luzzy and Enrique Gabriel Navarro, the artworks, which are scattered around the city on walls and in public and private buildings are being documented, some of them forming an urban walking art route.Click to read

New Cartagena artwork pays tribute to coronavirus health workers.Urban artists continue to bring colour to the streets of Cartagena by developing new murals – the Canteras Youth Centre has benefitted from a mural by Kraser, while Raul Estal Psico has created ‘Gracias a todo pulmon’ in the Plaza de la Constitucion.

‘Gracias a todo pulmon’ was commissioned in order to pay tribute to those working to fight the Covid19 pandemic in not only the health sector, but all those who have contributed to the many initiatives within the city as part of the overall effort to support the local community during the last few months.(see lead image)

Murcia city determined to maintain a little sparkle despite covid restrictions.The City of Murcia is determined not to miss out on its traditional Christmas celebrations even if they must be more subdued this year due to coronavirus and has begun work to assemble the huge artificial Christmas tree which is normally located in the centre of Plaza Circular.The Great Tree will again tower 40 meters over the plaza and be decorated with over 240,000 glittering lights, providing a beacon of light for shoppers.

A giant nativity scene will also be featured again around the tree, complete with tall wicker figures and other giant ornaments for the enjoyment of visitors, but the ice rink, snow play area, workshops, musical shows and children’s school visits have all been sacrificed in order to guarantee safety, to prevent crowds gathering and to comply with all coronavirus hygiene protocols.This year the switch-on of the tree will not be the normal crowd-pulling event it usually is and the town hall is keeping the switch-on time quiet to prevent crowds gathering.The great tree is being dedicated this year to the professionals who are on the front line fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately the municipal nativity scene will not be installed this year in the Palacio Episcopal of Plaza Belluga and neither will the nativity scene of la Pava in the Iglesia San Juan de Díos behind the cathedral.

400,000 flu vaccines administered this autumn in Murcia as campaign ends. Administrative hitches prevented greater success and must be ironed out before Covid vaccination begins.Click for full article

The flu vaccination campaign of autumn 2020 has now officially ended in the Region of Murcia with 100,000 people more than last year having received their doses of the vaccine, but elderly people registered with the SMS Murcia health service are still entitled to be inoculated if they haven’t yet been able to.

Only around 5,600 doses of the 400,000 which were acquired for this year’s campaign are left over, and in administering them priority will be given to those aged over 65, according to the Health department of the regional government.

There is little doubt that the coronavirus pandemic has contributed to the flu campaign’s success this year, with 58 per cent of over-65s in Murcia having already been vaccinated and the likelihood of that proportion rising to over 60 per cent. This is a significant increase over the 52 per cent reported last year but the stated target of 75 per cent in this age group has not been reached, and among health and medical professionals only 37 per cent have been vaccinated despite the same objective having been established.

One of the reasons for this failure to reach the target is that when the campaign began on 13th October so many people demanded immediate vaccination that doses were in short supply within just three weeks. Hundreds of people have been frustrated as their appointments have been cancelled, and at one point it was reported that internal administration problems exacerbated the problems in ensuring supplies reached the medical centres where the vaccines were in demand.

This resulted in the over-65s being prioritized and others being excluded from the programme.

 Ecologists oppose plans for new 5-star hotel in San Pedro del Pinatar.Construction of a hotel next to the salt flats of San Pedro would be senseless, say ANSE

Earlier this week plans were revealed for the construction of an 18-million-euro 5-star hotel next to the Regional Park of the Salt Flats of San Pedro del Pinatar, and almost as soon as the news was published the project was criticized as “senseless” by the ANSE naturalists’ association.

The Los Imbernones area of San Pedro, where the hotel is planned, is already home to the Pinatar Arena sports complex, which offers training facilities for football professionals, and the addition of a 400-room luxury hotel would turn it into one of the main tourism hubs of the Mar Menor area in competition with La Manga Club, which has currently closed its own luxury hotel for the winter and has been struggling to compete with Pinatar Arena and other training facilities just over the border in Torrevieja.

The developers intend to make the new development compatible with the regional park despite their project including half a hectare of “Ramsar” wetland (decreed to be of international importance) by creating a botanical garden. This 100-metre-wide strip would be planted with native species of flora, and would also function as a drainage channel in times of heavy rain, according to local councillor Ángela Gaona, who anticipates that alongside the hotel there will also be a 20,000-square-metre campsite.

However, Pedro García, spokesman for ANSE, rejects the whole project out of hand. Its location, he points out, is in exactly the spot where ANSE proposed the creation of a green filter to protect harmful substances from running off into the salt flats and the Mediterranean, and while he recognizes that in the past the regional government have allowed building on similar land, times have now changed.

The fragility of the marine environment in the Mar Menor is a constant reminder of the need to protect the wetlands, and Sr García believes it would be “brainless” to continue hemming in the regional park, which he describes as the “oxygen balloon” thanks to which there is still a tourist industry in the area.

Other voices are questioning the logic of the project when the Thalasia Hotel in San Pedro del Pinatar is already so close to the site of the training grounds and existing 5-star hotels in nearby golf resorts of Torre Pacheco have been forced to close; transferring coachloads of footballers from nearby hotels is a simple alternative they say and would make use of existing luxury hotels which currently lie dormant.

Other news Spanish:

Ten million euros worth of cocaine found inside container of bananas in Algeciras port: Click to read

Number of 500 euro banknotes circulating in Spain at lowest level since April 2002: Click to read

Camp of shame dismantled in the Canary Islands as irregular migration eases off: Click to read full article.

15th edition of the Canary Islands sand sculpture nativity scene nearly ready to open.

Spain is obsessed with the Christmas belén, or Christmas nativity and representations of the nativity can be seen in almost every village and church across Spain, lovingly built every year from scratch by enthusiastic “belenistas”. One of the most interesting nativity scenes in the country is found in the Canary Islands and is a large-scale sand sculpture, which is built to a completely new design every year by invited artists.

The belén raises money for soup kitchens in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, visitors paying a donation to visit the amazing sculptures which disappear after the 6th January every year.

As is the situation right across Spain, Coronavirus has changed everything this winter and many people who would normally visit the Canary Islands for a winter holiday will be unable to do so because of the restrictions in place, so this year an additional facility has been created whereby the belén can be visited virtually and donations made to support the solidarity work of the project.

The video below shows the amazing sculptures created last year:

In order to donate, go to the official webpage of the project www.belendearena.es or to book a visit to see the sculptures in situ, go to www.LPAvisit.com.

Thank you for your continued support. Have a safe week!