Laurence Dollimore
YUNQUERA in Malaga has activated the Municipal Emergency Plan due to a surge in coronavirus cases.
Mayor Jose Antonio Viquez has asked residents to self-impose home confinement as he appealed to individual responsibility to bring down the infection rate.
He does not have the power to impose a total lockdown.
On average, the small town now has an infection rate triple the level deemed ‘of concern’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Viquez said the town hall is studying bringing in a mass screening programme.
“It is the most serious health situation that our people have ever experienced,” he said.
The emergency plan will see a toughening up of police presence on the town’s borders, including Guardia Civil.
Meanwhile Policia Local will be visiting the homes of people currently suffering from the virus, as well as those who should be in confinement, to ensure measures are being followed.
The plan also means all sports and physical activity is banned, as is attending cultural or sporting events.
Several government buildings will be closed too, including the Francisco Sola museum.
“We have to be responsible to lower the figures,” said the mayor.
Yunquera, with a population of roughly 2,800, has registered 27 cases in the last 14 days, equivalent to almost 1% of the population.
