- Despite the fact that the indicators are increasing like never before, The Minister of Health has said that the current measures are tough enough: “We are practically in a semi-confinement”
In recent days there has been talk of another possible home confinement in the Valencian Community with requests being made by Compromís in the Consell and many Valencian towns where the coronavirus is rampant.
Although the matter has been raised, it is not something contemplated by the Generalitat, according to the Minister of Health, Ana Barceló, who spoke about the matter yesterday, Monday at a press conference, in which she answered questions about some of the doubts that have been raised in the last hours.
Home confinement is not proposed, although the restrictions could be increased: “It is still possible to introduce further actions in different areas without the need to go to a home confinement. It is not necessary”. This is how the head of Health responded in her statements to the media in which she spoke of the current situation of semi-confinement.
But coalition partners Compromís are currently insisting on the additional restrictions, as reported by the Leader on Monday, although the PSOE have said again that they are not in favour of total confinement, a measure that if it is considered can only be introduced by central government as it invades fundamental rights.
Regarding any increase in restrictions, the minister explained that it is still too early to gauge the effects of the latest restrictions, which came into force on January 7: “Now we are making sure that the measures are 100% fulfilled. The restrictions were implemented to get to the root of the problem. We must allow some time to see if their effects are successful, but we cannot afford non-compliance”.
All this is going on despite the fact that every minute two people are infected in the Valencian Community and that in the last week 22,000 infections have been reported in the region.
Never before have there been so many people admitted to our hospitals with covid, 2,752 people: 236 in the province of Castellón, with 23 patients in the ICU; 909 in the province of Alicante, 140 of them in the ICU; and 1,607 in the province of Valencia, 219 of them in the ICU.
And the forecast is that the figures will continue to increase in the coming days since we are still experiencing the effects of Christmas, New Year and Three Kings.
Meanwhile, the situation in hospitals continues at saturation and patients are already being referred to private hospitals, non-urgent operations have been suspended and field hospitals are preparing to receive covid patients where there are 80 beds in the Alicante field hospital; 80 in Castellón and 145 in Valencia, “all of which can be increased”, said Barceló.
