Health calls for "prudence and common sense" after the agglomerations of different cities over the weekend

The Secretary of State for Health, Silvia Calzón, has made this Monday "an appeal to the responsibility and prudence" of citizens after the agglomerations registered at the weekend in the centers of different capitals, such as Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia or Malaga , for Christmas shopping and turning on the Christmas lights.

Calzón recommends "avoiding crowds" in the streets these days before Christmas to avoid a worsening of the situation of the covid-19 pandemic in Spain.

"This is not over," he warned.

Some of the images of agglomerations came from the center of Madrid, from the Preciados shopping street.

The vice president of the Community of Madrid, Ignacio Aguado, has assured this Monday that he prefers that people "be in the street than in the houses" before the concentrations registered at the weekend.

"I fear the concentration of people in closed spaces, that people go out to the streets is not the problem, the problem is in the houses, which is where the focus is, not on the street or on public transport", according to mentioned in an interview in La Sexta, collected by Europa Press.

The vice president recalled that the capacity restrictions in bars and shopping centers are in force and has assured that these are "normal images at Christmas."

The Municipal Police, Aguado continues, already ensures that "there are not too many crowds."

Ignacio Aguado, vice president of the Community of Madrid, during a press conference.

In video, Aguado explains that it is the Madrid City Council who must manage the transit of people this Christmas.

PHOTO AND VIDEO: EUROPA PRESS

His words contrast with the request made by the Ministry of Health: "We would like to call for responsibility and prudence," Calzón asked in an interview on Canal Sur Radio.

“It took a lot of work and sacrifice to bend the curve,” he recalls.

"We should not forget how bad many families have had or the suffering" caused by the virus "especially when it reaches the most vulnerable," he added.

"If we like Christmas very much, let us ensure that we are all here next Christmas," defends the representative of the Ministry of Health.

"The sacrifice is worth it."

The Secretary of State for Health has appealed to the "common sense" of the public and has recommended outdoor activities and avoiding crowds to lower exposure to possible infections of their own and those of those close to them.

Along these lines, Silvia Calzón has recognized that "Christmas is a particularly endearing time" and that this year will be "special".

"We will have to focus on protecting those we love most," he asked, and "perhaps sacrifice a way of relating to multiple people from many environments to try to enjoy more and protect more those we love most, especially the elderly."

Regarding the restrictive measures that will be adopted in the face of the Christmas holidays in Spain, he has argued that each community "must necessarily have autonomy" to set these limitations and, "within its own territory, adapt to its different epidemiological situation" .

He recalled that there is "a working group that has been dedicated" by the Ministry of Health "to the design of some basic measures that can be put together" in the coming days, and now "that information is being collected" and " the issue will probably come up for debate on Wednesday ”, which comes at the next meeting of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System.

It is a set of measures that would serve to give "a unique message to the population", as Silvia Calzón has abounded. The Secretary of State insists that "probably all the measures will not be the same in the territory, because they have not been in recent months "because" the situation of the epidemic has been changing "in the whole of Spain.

Madrid, within the "planned", according to the City Council

After the images of crowds that have left in Madrid, due to the coincidence of the recently inaugurated Madrid lighting and Black Friday, the City Council of the capital ensures that these agglomerations fall within “what was planned”.

Preciados street, Puerta del Sol and the surrounding areas were crowded with people but sources from the Consistory told the Efe agency that, despite the images, the operation was on notice of the number of people who have registered and that this has not meant no unforeseen during the weekend.

The mayor assures that the security plan has worked and when it has been necessary the Municipal Police have restricted the access of more people to Sol and have left very commercial pedestrian arteries such as Preciados and del Carmen streets one-way, reports

.

José Luis Martínez-Almeida asks for time for the police officers and technicians to decide whether to introduce changes in the plan before the next bridge of the Constitution.

"My advice to Madrilenians is not not to go downtown," said the mayor, referring to the district of the capital "most affected" by the pandemic.

Reducing the capacity in those central streets in the near future will depend on technical criteria, not political, he added.

In the opinion of the Madrid vice president, Ignacio Aguado, walking down the street "does not pose so much risk when it comes to being infected" if it is done with a mask and caution.

“Let's not generate unnecessary alarm.

There is time for everything, to go out, to shop and be responsible, because until there is a vaccine this battle we have not won ”, he pointed out.

No mandatory distance in beach bars in Barcelona

The restaurateurs of the center of Barcelona waited for the past weekend, in which it was still not possible to leave the municipality, to recover part of the losses.

On Saturday the rain did not help.

On Sunday, Barcelona woke up with sun and 19 degrees, a perfect situation, especially for the bars located next to the five kilometers of the Barcelona beach, reports Alfonso L. Congostrina.

The problem is that the Generalitat's restrictions did not allow all the parishioners to take over.

Some businesses chose to prioritize the clientele and did not comply with the guidelines imposed by the Generalitat, especially the one that sets the mandatory distance, at least two meters, between one table and another.

The Urban Guard has not sanctioned any bar this weekend.

Yes, 323 people who were making bottles were evicted and 143 were fined for not wearing a mask and 384 for skipping the curfew.

Suspended special illuminations in Seville

In Seville last Saturday at noon there were crowds in the most commercial streets of the center.

To avoid them, the City Council has suspended all special lighting and audiovisual shows that concentrated large groups of people in areas such as Plaza San Francisco and that have been installed in previous years, reports

.

In addition, the Consistory has decided to delay the Christmas lighting "based on the experience of other cities", municipal sources need.

“It will be done in the middle of the bridge without warning or even later.

It is based on what the Andalusian health authority [the Board] raises from the 10th [date on which the current restrictions end] ", these sources add.

"How do you control these flows?

With a count at the beginning and at the end on the streets and stopping when a limit is reached.

There will be greater control of the Local Police to avoid crowds, but this is complex, it is very difficult because we also want the trade to be activated (...) We will surely have some kind of assessment that causes an access blockage with an unacceptable volume, and that it creates difficulties and people who don't understand it.

We are evaluating it, having seen what we have seen this weekend ”, said the mayor, Juan Espadas.

If the Board decides to lower the measures and that the trade, for example, resume its opening after 6:00 p.m., the City Council warns that it will disseminate measures to avoid possible crowds, although it could also advance them if you turn on the lighting before December 10.

Malaga: "Let's function as if we were infected"

Thousands of people came to Calle Larios, the main thoroughfare in Malaga, on Friday afternoon to attend the lighting of the Christmas lights, reports

.

The City Council had avoided announcing the opening time to avoid crowds, but many people from Malaga came to the historic center, which has generated controversy and criticism from the municipal opposition.

Police forces and Civil Protection volunteers worked throughout the afternoon to maintain a safe distance and prevent people from stopping to take photos.

The mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, has not referred to these specific events, but over the weekend he uploaded a video to social networks in which he asked citizens for “an increasing responsibility every day”.

"Let us function as if we were infected: masks, hand hygiene, social distance, avoid transmitting the evil that contagion entails to others," said De la Torre.

The municipality has suspended the traditional light and sound shows in that central street to avoid crowds and will only maintain a constant musical thread with Christmas carols.

Valencia recommends staggering purchases

In Valencia, the Black Friday weekend attracted thousands of buyers, so queues could be seen at the entrances to stores, especially the smaller ones, where there were staff at the door to regulate the flow of citizens, reports

.

In and around Colón Street, the main commercial artery of the Valencian capital, sidewalks could also be seen with many people and patient buyers taking turns to enter the establishments in search of offers.

And in large stores, "Black Friday has revealed the effectiveness of the measures implemented, making the increase in influx compatible with strict compliance with the required hygienic and sanitary measures," says Joaquín Cerveró, spokesman for the Association of Large Stores ( Anged) in the Valencian Community.

According to the manager, "the early start of the promotion has favored a more staggered visit to the stores, avoiding the crowds of other years."

The president of the Generalitat himself, Ximo Puig, has advised citizens to advance and stagger their purchases to avoid crowds.

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