Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles has criticized the attitude of the president of Catalonia, Quim Torra, for refusing to sign the joint statement made by the leaders of the Spanish state’s autonomous communities on the fight against coronavirus, and warned that "if any public leader with responsibilities takes a political approach to this situation, he does not deserve to be called responsible." "I cannot conceive of Quim Torra's positioning. If he retains that view, he should marginalised from public life," she said.
She was speaking at the press conference of the senior Spanish ministers who have been given special powers above those of autonomous regions, under Spain's state of alarm declared to fight the Covid-19 virus. Robles also affirmed that from tomorrow Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME) may be seen in more Spanish cities.
The ministerial command group to tackle the coronavirus crisis made up of defence minister Robles, along with interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the portfolio holders for health, Salvador Illa, and transport and mobility, Javier Ábalos, emphasized that private healthcare resources will become available to the public system to address the "coronavirus health crisis".
All private healthcare facilities will be placed at the command of regional health ministers to deal with the coronavirus, Robles told the press, and that they would be able to use these "in whatever way they felt was best ". As well, they would be able to equip public or private premises which had the necessary conditions, to make then available for medical use, whether for consultation or hospitalization.
In addition, she gave a period of 48 hours for any individuals or companies who possess protective and diagnostic products such as surgical masks, disposable gowns, gloves and diagnostic kits, as well as companies with production capacity for these products, to inform the Spanish health ministry.
Robles said that from tomorrow more military units will be deployed in other cities in the Spanish state, and that if this is done it is only to prevent the spread of the virus as it "knows no boundaries".
Interior minister Marlaska referred to the restrictive measures that will affect prisons. The Spanish government will isolate all prisons and will not let prisoners leave even if they have leave permission. On the other hand, it will increase the access to phone calls to "offset" this.
Transport will continue to operate throughout Spain, although the service will be reduced. Ábalos emphasized that "each regional authority will be able to determine the reduction in transport that it considers appropriate, in its territory."
Catalan president, dissenting voice
At Sunday morning's meeting between Pedro Sánchez and Spain's autonomous community presidents, Catalan leader Quim Torra again called for "total home lockdown", for the closure of ports, airports and trains - which are still operating under the Spanish government's lockdown - as well as borders, and the isolation of the main focuses of the virus, with reference to Madrid, Catalonia and others - something else which the Sánchez plan does not include.
He stated the Catalan government's rejection of the measures approved by the Spanish cabinet, asseting that they were intended only to "recentralize powers and not to stop the spread of Covid-19". The measures were "inadequate", said Torra. He protested that the Catalan government had been ignored in defining them, while many of the measures had already been applied in Catalonia for days.
He also regretted that the Spanish government had not yet approved an economic action plan.