Infections are multiplying in Castalla despite to perimeter confinement by the coronavirus

• In the town there are 158 active cases of Covid-19 and the cumulative incidence reaches 1,560 positives per 100,000 inhabitants
• The government team again calls on the neighbours to reduce mobility to a minimum and to strictly comply with health measures

Castalla Town Hall has overcome the first week of perimeter confinement decreed by the Generalitat Valenciana on 7th January. In the town there are currently 158 active cases of Covid-19, that is 54 more than a week ago when there were 104, and the accumulated incidence reaches 1,560 positives per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the latest data provided by the Regional Ministry of Health, published on Tuesday 12th January. The Mayor of Castalla, Antonio Bernabeu, has reported that “we have multiplied by several times the reasonable indicators of accumulated incidence, situated at 250 cases, which gives us an idea of the alarming degree of contagion that we have in our town”. In this sense, the first councillor has assured that the decision to confine the municipality to the perimeter was taken by the Generalitat after “much reflection on the part of the health authorities, with the aim of protecting the health of all the citizens of Castalla”.

With these more than alarming figures, the Mayor has once again reminded the residents of the need to reduce any movement to a minimum “unless it is essential, which is why I ask the Castelluts to make the sacrifice of confining themselves to their homes”, and has reiterated the need to comply “strictly” with the health measures to try to stop the spread of the pandemic.

For their part, the State Security Forces and Bodies, in coordination with the Local Police, the Autonomous Police and the Civil Guard, have cut off the roads, paths and access routes to the municipal area with fences and sandbags in order to maintain the decreed confinement in the best possible way. Every day, between 6am and 10pm, the agents make around 300 identifications at the only two verified access points to the municipal area: on the CV 8152, at the entrance to the Avenida de Ibi from Onil, and on the CV 8152, at the entrance to the Alicante motorway at the roundabout of the new petrol station.

30,000 to 600,000 euros fine for offenders
The police have filed several complaints against vehicles that have attempted to change signs without permission and enter the population at unauthorised locations, thereby circumventing established confinement measures. The local police are calling for maximum citizen collaboration, understanding of the measures and patience in their application, and warn that “we will not be afraid to impose the corresponding sanctions,” said the mayor, Juan Carlos Mota. And they recall that the amounts of the infringements related to the Covid-19 are very high, since the serious ones can reach 30,000 euros and the very serious ones up to 60,000 euros; if the accused were to be charged with repeated fines, these could reach 300,000 and 600,000 euros respectively.

Antonio Bernabeu also remembered the hotel and catering sector, “a sector that is going through a hard time and has been forced to close its establishments due to perimeter confinement. At the Town Hall we are aware of the difficulties they are experiencing and we regret this. We must also reduce contagion from them and from all the businesses that have been affected by this pandemic”.

The storm increases the difficulties
Finally, the Mayor of Castellón referred to the passage through the city of the cold and snowy storm ‘Filomena’, which coincided with the implementation of the battery of measures relating to perimeter confinement. Bernabeu explained that “the storm has added a degree of complication to the application of the measures, above all due to the extreme temperature conditions that the agents have had to endure in the access controls”.

Along these lines, the temperatures forced the government team to suspend classes at the Castalla schools on January 7 and 8. There were even cases of people coming to the area of ‘Xorret de Catí’ to enjoy the snow and crossing cut-off roads to access the municipal area of Castalla, which led the Mayor’s Office to restrict access to Catí from this municipality, together with the Petrel Town Hall. “We must all be aware of the reality in which we live and act with the utmost prudence in all areas to put an end to the virus”, concluded the Mayor.