ALICANTE: 17 out of 79 Rescued Immigrants in Spain’s Costa Blanca had Covid

By Tony Winterburn • Published: 30 Jul 2020 • 10:32

Health authorities have obtained an order from a Judge to isolate 17 of the 79 immigrants that were rescued off the coast of Alicante recently.

THE Health Administration made the decision last Sunday, due to the close contact that those affected had had with other immigrants who have tested positive for coronavirus. A spokesman said that all the intercepted boats came from the same mother ship, so their free movement could pose a serious risk to public health.

The local magistrate agreed and confirmed the order for internment of the immigrants into the General University Hospital of Alicante. When possible, however, the judge said the hospital should directly discharge those affected without the need to seek any judicial authorisation.

The local magistrate signed an order to force the isolation of 17 immigrants rescued off the coast last week. image: Wikipedia

On a visit to the city of Alicante, the Minister for Equality and Inclusive Policies and Vice President of the Generalitat, Mónica Oltra, from Compromís, was asked about alleged incidents involving these people. Oltra has repeated that these people who flee their countries of origin due to war, terrorism or labour or sexual exploitation should not be “stigmatised.”

He also recalled that, for over six years now in the Valencian Community, health care was a universal right and that most of the outbreaks recorded in the second wave of Covid-19 had originated in social events, specifically in family meetings or those on holiday.

In the case of immigrants who have tested positive for the virus, he has stated, that “any infected human being is a victim of the virus and not the executioner of anyone” and has repeated that it will not contribute “to stigmatising a group that is not the cause of the pandemic or reference to the largest outbreaks.”