By Tony Winterburn • Published: 28 Jul 2020 • 9:35
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez has slammed Boris Johnson’s decision to introduce a 14-day quarantine for travellers returning to the UK.
Spain fights back
“THE decision to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine on travellers entering the UK from Spain and to warn Britons against travelling to the country is an error based on incorrect epidemiological reasoning” – Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez.
Speaking on Spanish television last night, Pedro Sanchez said much of his country, a hotspot for UK tourists, had a lower infection rate than the UK. Last year, British tourists made up over a fifth of all foreign visitors to Spain, which relies heavily on tourism.
Judgement based on solid evidence
“The error, in my judgement, and hence the lack of alignment of the United Kingdom’s response, is based on considering the cumulative incidence of (the virus in) the entire country,” Spanish PM Sanchez said in an interview with Telecinco television.
“The rebound in coronavirus cases is focused in two regions, Catalonia and Aragon,” he said, adding: “In most of Spain, the incidence (of the disease) is very much inferior to even the numbers registered in the United Kingdom.”
He added, “We are talking with British authorities to try to get them to reconsider a measure that, in our opinion, is not well adjusted if we consider epidemiological criteria of Spain, particularly in some tourist destinations in our country.”
The UK does not agree
Local government minister Simon Clarke says he does not agree with the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez that the decision to reimpose quarantine on people arriving from Spain was an overreaction. Clarke has denied that the Spanish prime minister’s claim that Britain has miscalculated the data on the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Spain.
“We obviously continue to work closely with them and we wish them every success in managing this outbreak, but we’ve seen a very sharp increase in cases in Spain.
Infections on the increase
“A 75 per cent increase in cases reported between the middle of last week and the end of last week. That’s why we took the action that we have. Clearly, you do have to make decisions on a country-wide basis. There is going to be internal transfer within Spain and it’s important that we do our utmost to protect the public.”
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