TOUGHER penalties are set to be introduced this Friday(July 24) across the Costa Blanca, in order to force people into wearing face masks.

Ximo Puig, President of the Valencian Generalitat, said that the new sanctions are needed due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, which he claimed were being caused by people coming into the area from other parts of Spain.

Ximo Puig
COMMITTED: Ximo Puig

Last weekend, the region extended the mandatory wearing of masks to all public areas, but there have been many reports that the new rules are being ignored.

Ximo Puig said: “We have to be more demanding of everybody than ever before.”

The regional leader did not specify the exact details of the new decree and exactly what the penalties will be.

Puig added: “We’ve reached an accord with the region’s police forces and we are talking to the region’s municipalities before we publish this decree on Friday, so that everybody can fight the coronavirus in the best possible way.”

The measures will also seek to strongly enforce social distancing rules as well as making sure that indoor areas are properly ventilated.

“We must make sure that the high standards we have set to fight the pandemic are maintained”, Puig commented.

Over the rises in coronavirus cases, Puig said that contact tracing details had shown that the spike was caused by Spaniards coming into the Valencian Community.

He also appealed to owners of night clubs to make sure their guests wear masks and observe social distancing.

70 people were confirmed to have caught the coronavirus after going to a Gandia club, whilst mass-testing took place on Tuesday involving party goers who went to a Santa Pola venue.

Subscribe to the Olive Press

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.