Catalan Government says it would not have opened bars and restaurants if the State had given more aid
Health Department warns that mixing 'bubbles' for Christmas "can end in tragedy"
BarcelonaBars and restaurants would still be closed in Catalonia if there was the money to compensate the sectors affected by the restrictions. Money that, the Catalan ministers of Health, Alba Vergés, and Home Affairs, Miquel Sàmper, have said should have to come from the Spanish government.
"If we had money, surely these reopening would not have taken place. If we had the economic resources, it is clear that the measures would be as restrictive as possible", admitted Sàmper, who added that "the State is not providing the resources", as is the case in France and Germany, where bars and restaurants are still closed and where the State "pays for 75% of the closed companies". The minister recalled that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends these restrictions, but in Catalonia they cannot be applied because of the lack of economic resources for the most affected sectors, which if they did not open and did not receive aid were condemned to bankruptcy. "We have to play with the balance between health and economic situation", admitted Sàmper.
Vergés also appealed to the "responsibility" of all the administrations. "The Spanish government has the responsibility, the competencies and the capacity", said the minister, who like Sàmper has demanded "state aid" for those who have had to reduce their economic activity. "The Spanish state is the only one that does not provide the aid corresponding to people and economic activities", she said.
The minister said that the Catalan Government has done "everything in its power" to stop the virus, such as tracking contacts, mass screening and preparing a phased plan with restrictions in several sectors. "It's not the same to do this with support behind you as it is to do it without the Spanish government responding by giving aid to the people," he insisted.
60 people in the ICU in June, 500 in November
The government justifies its position with the data from the hospitals, which are suffering from more pressure on their health care now than in June, with the first de-escalation. The director of the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut), Adrià Comella, has given two data to explain why this de-escalation "starts in very different conditions" than the first one: on June 23 there were 60 people in ICUs and on November 23 there were 509; on June 23 there were "six or seven people a day" entering the ICUs, and now there are about 20, more than double. "It is completely different", said Comella.
In this context, Comella has warned that the Christmas holidays pose a dangerous scenario. In fact, he has assumed that there will be transmission during family gatherings: "A good cause like getting together with the family can end in tragedy. There will be admissions and some deaths. "Be very careful," he insisted. That is why Vergés has asked not to mix bubbles and to try to celebrate the holidays with the core family and always the same people.
The Secretary of Public Health, Josep Maria Argimon, had already warned in the morning on TV3 that although the data are improving in terms of contagion, we will have to be very careful to prevent "the Kings of the East bring us the third wave as a gift". A fear that, he said, has been brought to him by many professionals, especially considering that the Christmas season involves a lot of interaction.
