Junta eases restrictions on movement between municipalities as virus cases descend

The Junta de Andalucia has lifted restrictions on movement across municipal boundaries in the Campo de Gibraltar as from Friday as virus cases drop.

The removal of the mobility restrictions applies to all Campo municipalities except for Algeciras and Castellar de la Frontera, where incidence of spread is still above the threshold for the lifting the ban.

Many other municipalities in the province of Cadiz will also have restrictions lifted except in cases where the infection rate is still high.

A statement from the Junta said that those municipalities which have a higher rate of infection, between 500 and 1,000 cases per 100,000 residents, boundary restrictions remain in place.

This includes Algeciras and Castellar de la Frontera within the Campo area.

For now, only people with valid essential reasons including work and medical appointments, or those returning home, can legally cross into municipalities where the restrictions are still in place.

The development follows the latest weekly meeting of the Junta’s committee of scientific experts, which assesses the rate of Covid-19 infections in the region.

The Campo has been locked down for several weeks following a surge in cases, particularly in La Linea.

But that spike in cases had now levelled off and the number of new infections is decreasing.

The Junta recently allowed a limited return to non-essential activities including leisure in municipalities with lower rates of infection and could ease those further tomorrow.

However, for areas with more than 1000 cases per 100,000 residents - such as Grazalema, Olvera and Puerto Serrano in the province of Cadiz - a full lockdown continues to be in place with the closure of all non-essential activity as well.

A ban on movement between provinces also remains in place.

That means, for example, that only those with essential reasons are allowed to move from the province of Cadiz into the neighbouring Malaga province.

According to the Junta, the measures come into force at midnight on February 19. That prompted some confusion although it appears that it means the restrictions will be lifted as from Friday itself, rather than Friday into Saturday.

The measures will be reviewed in seven days’ time.

The Gibraltar Government has repeatedly urged people to familiarise themselves with the rules in Spain before crossing the border and to exercise care and caution against the backdrop of efforts to control the spread of Covid-19.

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