Alex Trelinski
A BRITISH councillor on the Costa Blanca has made a plea for expats ‘ignoring’ rules on sanitary facemasks to remind themselves that ‘coronavirus is still here’.
San Fulgencio councillor, Samantha Hull, has warned people to ‘mask up’ or risk getting a fine.
She told the Olive Press that, despite bar and restaurant owners putting up plenty of warning signs, she’s seen customers still flouting lockdown laws in the La Marina urbanisation.
“I have received several complaints via social media that masks are not being worn,” the councillor said.
“The law is absolutely clear over masks, i.e. anywhere the social distancing rules of two metres cannot be followed, which includes when people are seated in an outdoor terrace area.
“You must also have a mask with you if you go inside to use the toilet.”
She noted reports of people who are forgetting that hugging and handshakes are not allowed.
“Residents should not become complacent as the coronavirus is still here, and we all need to remain vigilant and responsible,” she added.
The councillor’s warnings come as Spain’s government is set to make mask-wearing a regular part of life after the Estado de Alarma (State of Alarm) ends later this month.
People who choose to flout the rules in closed areas will face a one-hundred euro fine under national plans for what they call ‘the new normal’.
It also comes as the government of the Valencian Community, the Generalitat, is requesting the region enter phase 3 of de-escalation from next Monday, June 8.
No deaths have been recorded in the region for five days, and no new coronavirus cases have been recorded in 470 Valencian municipalities – 87% of the total.
Wastewater tests also have shown a 96% decline in the spread of the virus, making president Ximo Puig say the pandemic has ‘practically disappeared’ from the autonomous community.
Despite these improvements in the Valencian Community, Spain has experienced ‘outbreaks’ of coronavirus in residential homes in northern Asturias, as well as among fruit pickers in Catalunya.
“In certain provinces, small groupings of cases associated with particular situations have been detected, which have been investigated and are being properly controlled,” said Spain’s director of health emergencies under the Ministry of Health, Fernando Simon.
