MADRID, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Spain's Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Tuesday that the central government was not considering an early end to the State of Alarm, which was imposed Friday on the Madrid region to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Illa responded to an appeal from Isabel Diaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid, to lift the restrictions.
Speaking on Spanish radio station Cadena SER, Illa insisted that currently "the circumstances do not exist" to lift the mobility restrictions imposed on the city of Madrid and eight other municipalities.
Travel restrictions were imposed on a further four basic health areas in the region on Monday (Colmenar Viejo, Arganda del Rey, Coslada and Collado Villalba) after they showed an incidence rate of 750 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Under the new rules, no more than six people are allowed to meet at any one time, and bars and restaurants have their capacity limited to 50 percent in the whole Madrid area.
Illa recalled that the criteria for imposing restrictions were an incidence rate of 500 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants; over 10 percent of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests giving positive results; and over 35 percent of intensive care beds occupied by coronavirus patients.
He explained that "if the conditions are met during the week," he would "propose lifting confinement on the areas that fulfilled them," but stressed that the incidence rate of the virus "was above 500 cases per 100,000" and had not yet fallen below that level.
The minister also highlighted the need to strengthen Spain's public health service. "We have to give resources to health," he said, calling for "a focus on a sustained increase over time to allow us to invest and spend well on all that has to do with the public health system."
He explained that for now, the number of flu cases remains "much lower" than usual this year, urging people to get vaccinated when the campaign begins for the general population in the second half of this month.
As the world is struggling to control the pandemic, countries across the globe -- among them Germany, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- are racing to find a vaccine.
According to Health Ministry figures released on Monday, Spain had confirmed 888,968 cases of COVID-19 and 33,124 deaths from the virus since the start of the pandemic. The Madrid region reported 266,896 of the cases and 9,786 deaths. Enditem
