Cristina Hodgson
SALVADOR Illa, the Spanish Minister of Health, said this Sunday that Malaga and Granada were to remain in Phase 1 for a minimum of 14 days.
The Health Minister insists that two weeks is ‘the maximum incubation period’ of the virus, so it is ‘a prudent approach’.
The two Andalucian provinces that were left out of moving into Phase 1 last week will now remain in Phase 1 for 14 days ‘unless there are very exceptional issues that would allow reconsideration,’ he said.
“It is a general criterion that we will always try to respect, unless there are very, very exceptional issues that would allow us to reconsider it,” the minister explained.
In addition, Illa said that travel between provinces is not permitted until the ‘new normal’ phase in June.
View of Malaga from Castillo Gibralfaro.
The announcement came just hours after a request by the President of the Andalucian Government, Juanma Moreno, for the whole community to advance to Phase 2 on May 25 if the requirements were met.
Moreno believes a homogeneous entry into the different phases of the de-escalation plan is essential to the region’s economy.
It means the six other provinces, including Sevilla and Cadiz, will enter Phase 2 on Monday, once again leaving behind Malaga and Granada.
So the criteria are based on an arbitrary time limit set by the government, and NOT on scientific or data analysis as touted by the government