The Minister of Health, Ana Barceló, announced yesterday afternoon su decision to sacrifice progress in the de-escalation of the 10 health departments that are best located and that next week would meet the period required to pass the phase. Among these 10 is that of the Marina Alta, which will have to stay in this first phase for another week due to the insistence of the Generalitat to de-escalate all "hand in hand".
This has sat like a jug of cold water to the dianenses businessmen who already announced in many cases the reopening of their businesses next Monday, when we were scheduled to move to Phase 2. In addition, being able to open indoors is vital for the economic recovery of the hoteliers, who cannot live alone on the terraces.
"We believe that the data that is being given in the Marina Alta is very good and delaying one more week in order for us to spend the whole community together hurts us", Remedios Cerdá, general secretary of the Association of Hospitality and Tourism Entrepreneurs Marina Alta, declares to this medium. From AEHTMA they affirm that these constant changes are damaging the capacity of the hoteliers to overcome the situation and, therefore, the local economic recovery. "They were saying some things and now, surely for health issues that we are not going to discuss, others say. This constant indecision is driving us crazy."
"People don't know what to do"Cerdá says. "They are telling us on Monday that the whole community is going to go to Phase 2 and on Tuesday they change their minds. Well, we are worried about what they will do next."
The Ministry of Health announced that the de-escalation would be done every fortnight to be able to evaluate the data after the quarantine period. However, after the Generalitat's decision to overcome the phases in a unitary way and not by departments, since it was they who originally proposed a sectioned evaluation in this way, the Marina Alta will have to wait for the worst results had meet the conditions. "If the incubation period is fifteen days, we will have it for 3 weeks."
"If they really are sanitary criteria, we will respect and comply with them, of course"Cerdá points out, although she is concerned about the situation. "They could have waited another week".
Travel from Valencia: the most anticipated relief measure
Now, one of the relief measures that are most awaited in the region is to be able to move between provinces "since, although we belong to the province of Alicante, it is well known that in Dénia our closest client is València and, of course, it hurts us".
Given these constant changes by the Generalitat, AEHTMA insists that they will continue "working and preparing the premises to be able to receive clients with all the security and guarantees that these moments require ".
