[ad_1]
A resort in the Canary Islands has closed its beaches immediately after being hit by the second wave of coronavirus.
The tourist island of El Hierro in the Canary Islands has closed its beaches immediately after suffering its first serious outbreak of coronavirus in months.
⚠️ Read our live coronavirus blog for the latest news and updates
4
4
El Hierro was one of the few places in Spain that escaped the pandemic, registering only a handful of cases and no deaths.
But the second wave of the virus has affected at least 40 people and prompted local authorities to take urgent action now instead of waiting for the situation to get worse.
Local president Alpidio Armas today announced new preventive measures that include, among others, a ban on the use of bathing areas on the island.
“Early intervention has been shown to be a fundamental tool to prevent the spread of the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus in El Hierro.
AT LEAST 40 INFECTED PEOPLE
“In this sense, health protection measures have been issued, within each area of competence, in order to reduce and prevent risky contacts between citizens in relation to Covid-19,” he said.
The island is the second smallest of the popular Canaries, but it attracts tourists looking for a more serene holiday in stunning surroundings.
Health managers are devastated that their good record has been affected and they want to take decisive action to prevent further spread.
Immediately imposed measures also include closure of public spaces, restriction of access to residences for the elderly, suspension of all kinds of cultural, social and sports activities organized by the island’s government, closure of libraries and educational centers.
Parks and markets have been closed, as well as playgrounds for children.
PARKS AND MARKETS CLOSED
Armas said that the mayors of the three municipalities of Valverde, La Frontera and El Pinar had met to agree on the new regulations as a matter of urgency “in order to reduce and prevent risky contacts between citizens in relation to Covid-19.”
The El Hierro government team says it is in close contact with the Canary Islands government due to the proximity of the planned return of schools for September 15.
The Canary Islands, having had a low incidence of coronavirus and deaths in the first wave, is currently registering a record level of new positives and both Lanzarote and Gran Canaria have warned of localized blockages if the level does not drop.
Today, the archipelago added another 297 cases, bringing the total number to 7,106, putting the rate at 329.99 per 100,000 people.
El Hierro has also called for security reinforcements and army personnel to help disinfect public areas.
By islands, Gran Canaria accumulates 3,702 cases of coronavirus of which 2,899 are still active, which represents 68 percent of the total active cases on the islands. Tenerife has a cumulative 2,380 cases of which 782 are still active, three times less than the active cases in Gran Canaria.
Lanzarote has 429 active cases and a cumulative 551, Fuerteventura with a total of 277 of which 121 are still active, La Palma has 141 cases and 22 are still active, El Hierro has 37 active cases out of a total of 40 and La Gomera with a cumulative of 15 cases of which six are still active.
Canary Islands President Ángel Víctor Torres says the islands are doing everything they can to avoid further closures, and that the next 10 to 14 days will be crucial to see if the extensive new regulations will affect the numbers.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has offered the officials who run the country’s 17 regions help from the army to carry out contact tracing for coronavirus.
He has pledged to declare regional emergency orders if the spread of the pandemic continues, facilitating the ability of regional officials to issue locks and restrict mobility.
Sánchez says that the contagion rate is worrying but called it far from the situation in mid-March, when the government imposed a state of emergency.
CHILD OFF
The pub owner’s brutal response to the customer who complained after ‘spending £ 700’
SUDDEN POINT
Bolton suffers ‘sudden’ coronavirus spike days before lockdown is eased
Soaked in blood
23, 26-year-old Irish couple ‘carry out cruel knife attack in Sydney’
‘WORSE THAN PRISON’
Flat with washing machine, kitchen and toilet UNDER the bed for 754 pounds a month
TRAGIC DISCOVERY
Police find body in forest in search of British diplomat, father of three
miaowzers!
Expert Says FIVE HUNDRED big cats could be roaming UK countryside
Spain is struggling to control the transmission of the virus, with a new wave hitting the country just days before the opening of the school year.
Sánchez encouraged Spaniards to download a mobile contact tracing application that the government is implementing.
More than 400,000 people have been infected since the start of the epidemic and at least 28,872 have died from the coronavirus. However, the figure does not capture many who died without being evaluated.
4
4
[ad_2]
