Murcia Today Weekly Bulletin 28th November

Image 1:Belén construction underway in Cartagena

This week the main news coverage has focused on the positive news that coronavirus case numbers and hospitalisations are continuing to decrease in both Murcia and Spain, as the restrictions imposed by the autonomous regions slowly take effect.

There is optimism that a vaccinations programme will begin early in the new year and although no vaccine has yet been licensed, the government has been laying out its priorities for the vaccinations programme and working behind the scenes to organise a vaccination roll-out. Although the number of covid vaccinations will be higher than the annual flu vaccination programme, the Ministry is confident that Spain is perfectly capable of a smooth roll-out once the doses become available, with 13,000 vaccination points already in place and trained personnel who deliver 14 million flu vaccines annually.

There has also been a focus on the forthcoming holiday weekend of 6th-8th December and considerable discussion about the two weeks of festivities between the 24th December and 6th January:

Covid Spain:

This Friday, 27th November, the national Ministry of Health reported 10,853 new cases of Covid-19, which is a large decrease in the daily total compared to the 15,156 of last week and the 21,371 of two weeks ago and reflects a week in which the number of new cases has continued to slowly reduce.
The overall total this Friday is 1,628,208 compared to the 1,556,730, of last Friday, which makes the weekly total 70,478, a noticeable fall compared to the 98,139 of last week and the 129,759 the week before. This marks three consecutive weeks of falling figures, compared to the peak of the second wave at 143,154 three weeks ago. So this is clearly an improving situation.

This gradual fall in the number of new cases being reported has reduced the accumulated incidence rate over the last 14 days, calculated based on the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which today stands at 307, compared to 419 last week and 498 the week before.

By region, this is the current AI level across the country per 100,000 of population over 14 days, the rate has fallen in all regions of Spain this week:

Castilla y León 501; Asturias 494; Basque Country 479; La Rioja, 445; Aragón 381; Cantabria 399; Andalucía 357; Castilla la Mancha 319; Navarra 312; Murcia 310; Valencia Region 273; Extremadura 264; Catalonia 263; Galicia 259; Madrid 244; (the two sets of offshore islands) Balearic Islands 203; Canary Islands 77. Ceuta 396; Melilla with 460 (both of these enclaves on the African coastline);

The gradual decrease does permit some optimism, but the objectives of the Ministry of Health, reducing the accumulated incidence over 14 days to 60 cases, and over 7 days to 25, is still some distance away.

Pressure on hospital system:
Logically, the pressure exerted on the health system by this level of cases remains high, but the situation has improved slightly this week nationally on the general covid wards, and in intensive care; Last week there were 17,963 patients hospitalised with more severe cases of covid, and 20,239 the week before ; this week the total has fallen to 14,819.

Last Friday the bed occupancy was 14.52 %, this Friday it is 11.95%, reflecting an easing on hospital pressure.

In intensive care units, the situation has also improved; The national average for ICU beds last Friday was 31.02%; this Friday it's 28.44%, with 2,777 patients in a serious condition on Friday.

So all of these figures show a slight easing of pressure and an improvement in the situation compared to last week.

Fatalities:

The image shows that although deaths are increasing steadily, they remain way below the levels of the spring.

The week has concluded with a total of 44,668 fatalities, compared to 42,619 the week before, a rise of 2,049

Although the number of new cases has eased off slightly, we are now seeing the effects of the rise in previous weeks working their way through, as logically new infections rise first, followed by a rise in hospitalisations and then finally, the number of deaths rise, a process that usually takes 2-3 weeks.

Deaths have been slowly risng; 1,126, 1,355, 1,936, and 1,850  last week, so this week the number of deaths has risen again. It is confusing when trying to analyse the data published in Spain; the official total this week is only 1177 deaths reported, but the Ministry continues to add deaths from the figures reported by the regional health authorities once the data has been competely verified, so although the number of deaths actually reported and verified this week is 1,177, the total number by which the official total has risen this week is in fact 2,049.

Vaccines.

On Monday the preliminary data of one of the vaccines included in the European Commission block buying programme in which Spain is a participant published preliminary results of the clinical trials of phase 3 of its Covid vaccine: Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccine shows an average efficacy of 70% against Covid and is cheap, as well as being easily stored and distributed due to only requiring a standard fridge for storage : Click to read full article .

As the week wore on, concern was expressed over the methodology used to obtain an "average" result when the data between the two trials was so significantly different, and in spite of reassurances that trials will be continued and that the vaccine is effective and safe, this has contributed to the growing discomfort about the safety of covid vaccinations amongst the population.

Spanish government outlines coronavirus vaccination plans: On Tuesday the government advised that it was planning to use the 13,000 points in which flu vaccines are normally carried out as a base from which to launch the vaccination programme, and successfully vaccinates 12-14 million people annually against flu. The country has the logistical capability and sufficient storage to manage the dstribution of whichever vaccine is selected, including the Pfizer vaccine which requires low temperature storage and as part of the EU buying programme is likely to acquire a mixture of vaccines as they become available.

The Health Minister has already said that it is not his intention to oblige members of the public to receive a vaccine, but of course, this has still not been confirmed 100% by legislation.

The Health Minister indicated on Monday that he believes a vaccination programme will begin in January, although at the moment of course, it is impossible to confirm details until the vaccines have been approved, licensed and manufactured, a process which will still take weeks to complete.

Later in the week the government confirmed that the first to be offered the vaccine when it becomes available will be healthcare professionals, those living and working in homes for the elderly, the residents of carehomes and those with disabilities. These will be followed by those aged 64 and over, those with medical conditions which place them at greater risk, those working in essential services, the more vulnerable and those who live or work in enclosed spaces.Click for full information

On Wednesday the EU announced that it had agreed a sixth buying contract for 160 million doses of the Moderna covid vaccine, of which Spain will receive an allocation. Click to read

Demand for flu vaccine up by 55 per cent in Spain this year.

It is of course very hard to find positive effects of the coronavirus in Spain, where the pandemic-related death toll has climbed to over 44,000, but one such silver lining, according to the Ministry of Health, is that demand for vaccination against “normal” flu has shot up by 55 per cent since the last inoculation campaign a year ago.

The Ministry reports that 14 million people have so far been vaccinated this autumn, an increase of 5 million (or 55 per cent) over the figure for the 2019 campaign. This represents an encouraging response to an initiative to prevent co-infection of Covid-19 and flu which began as long ago as March, when Spain became the first country to ensure supplies of 5 million “extra” doses of the flu vaccine. Click to read

Right-wing voters far more likely to reject coronavirus vaccines in Spain.

The latest poll, conducted by DYM, concludes that only 36.2 per cent of Spaniards are certain that they will take up the offer of vaccination as soon as possible, while a further 40.5 per cent express doubts. As many as 16 per cent, though – that is, 1 in 6 – are sure that they will not be receiving the jab (or jabs) voluntarily, suggesting that widely-voiced concerns over the accelerated testing and approval procedures for the various vaccines being developed have struck a chord with a large proportion of the population.

The DYM survey also finds some interesting correlations between the political leanings of those taking part and their attitude towards receiving the vaccine. The level of acceptance is highest among supporters of the PSOE and Unidas Podemos parties which currently govern in coalition (at 43.3 per cent and 41 per cent respectively), but falls to a mere 18.7 among those who would cast their votes for the far-right group Vox if an election were to be held immediately. Click to read

The first cases of flu have been reported in Spain for the "2020 season" but numbers are much lower than normal.In fact, they’re 99 per cent lower than the average for the last five years at this point of the year!!!!

Between the 36th and 45th week of 2020 (from the start of September to mid-November) only 148 cases were confirmed, while the average equivalent for the same period in the previous five years was approximately 17,000: on other words, there has been a drop of over 99 per cent!

Of course, flu epidemics vary from year to year, and sometimes they begin later. In the same period last year the figure had already reached 5,000 by mid-September, while on the other hand in 2015 it was still at only 650 by mid-November. Looking further back, in 2004-05 the epidemic did not start to grow significantly until well into January, and the same could yet happen this winter, but the evidence seems to suggest clearly that the pandemic has contributed to significantly reducing the effects of flu. Click to read

Restrictions:

On Tuesday the Spanish Government published planned coronavirus restrictions for the festive season: Christmas markets will be permitted, 6 people can meet for social interaction and the regional governments will decide whether to open their regional borders for the festive period. Most of the restrictions planned for the festive season in Spain revolve around the social interaction anticipated during the 2 week period in which Spanish families traditionally meet and socialise. Most of the restrictions are the same as those we have already been living with for months, and restrict group sizes to 6, as well as permitting Christma cultural activities, with limited capacity. Most of the restrictions will be applied locally by regional governments who will themselves decide whether to open their external borders and permit activity in the hostelry sector, so although the measures aim to create a homogenous solution for the whole country, this is not going to be the case, as within hours Catalunya and Madrid had both announced that they would be permitting larger group gatherings. Click to read full article

However, by Thursday the Ministry of Health had encountered several obstacles to the proposals, namely regional governments unwilling to accept all of the conditions and pushing for a maximum of 10 people to be allowed to gather, so the decision was taken on Thursday to shelve the first set of plans and meet with the autonomous regions again next week to thrash out an agreement. The Murcian regional government is amongst those pushing for the number allowed to meet to be increased to 10, along with Madrid, Catalunya and Navarra. Galicia and Andalucía are asking that children under 14 are not included in the count as a "person", effectively meaning 3 couples, plus children, can gather. In the meantime, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has defended the proposed limit of 6 people for family meals. This number, he maintains, was not chosen at random but was reached by a thorough analysis of how it is possible to continue controlling the spread of the pandemic: he targets an incidence rate of 25 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over a 14-day period, and with the rate currently standing at 341 it is clear that there is still a long way to go before this objective is even close to being achieved. As a result, no decisions have now been taken.

EU President warns against relaxing covid measures during the festive season:

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has warned European governments on Wednesday that they must learn from the "mistakes" made during the first months of the pandemic and avoid relaxing containment measures "too quickly", such as they did in summer, because this would be taking the risk that coronavirus infections soar again and bring a "third wave" after Christmas.

Although her words will be less than popular with members of the public desperate to be released from confinement and determined to enjoy their normal family seasonal festivities, her words are being echoed by the scientific and medical communities as well as the WHO.

Doctors have spoken openly about the exhaustion felt by medical staff after the intense pressure brought by covid during the last few months and have themselves criticised relaxation measures as being too much too soon.

In Spain the flu season normally begins in earnest straight after the festive season, when social mixing has been at maximum levels, and although all of us are “covid weary” from months of restrictions, warnings about a potential third wave, and the strict lockdowns which will be required should this be the case, are coming thick and fast at the moment.

Canary Islanders to be given free PCR tests before returning home for Christmas. The final details are being decided upon for a scheme to offer free PCR tests to any resident of the islands who is planning to travel home for Christmas, a measure which will principally affect students attending universities in mainland Spain. Click to read

Balearic Islands preparing to Covid test travellers from the rest of Spain; the islands want to ensure that passengers from the Spanish mainland don´t bring coronavirus with them. Click to read

The issue of what will happen during the festivities to events such as the grand parade (cabalgata) of the Three Kings on 5th January has been discussed all week. Although many parades have been cancelled, ways are being found to bring a little seasonal cheer:

Granada village classes Three Kings as essential public service to circumvent covid rules.The plan is for their Royal Majesties to deliver presents door to door unencumbered by covid! Click to read

Alicante is going for the Guinness World Record for the biggest nativity and is building an 11 metre high "Sagrada Familia". Click to read

Other Covid news Spain:

King of Spain in coronavirus quarantine: The monarch will be in quarantine for ten days from Monday as a precautionary measure after it emerged that he had been in close contact with an individual who has tested positive, although the Royal Household has not revealed the identity of the person in question. Felipe’s confinement began on Monday afternoon as soon as he was informed of the situation, and all engagements over the coming 10 days are therefore suspended although his wife, Queen Letizia, and his two daughters, Leonor and Sofía, will continue with their normal activities at least for the time being.

Spain’s royal family are already familiar with the quarantine procedures: in April Queen Letizia spent 14 days in isolation after attending an official function in the company of Irene Montero, the Minister for Equality, who subsequently tested positive for coronavirus, and Princess Leonor also spent a fortnight in isolation in September after a positive test result was returned by one of her class companions at the Santa María de los Rosales school.On Friday it was confirmed that the King had tested negative.

Covid pushes up the price of lamb in Spain. As the festive season approaches many families will be planning celebratory meals featuring a leg or a rack of lamb, albeit with fewer relatives in attendance than might normally be the case, but one of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic is that the market price of this popular meat has been close to its highest ever level for as long as the last six months.

The record market price at the meat market of Extremadura, the most representative in Spain, was the 4 euros per kilo reached in the autumn of 2005, but that peak was short-lived and this year the price has been well over 6 euros since June. Much of this is reported to be due to the export of lambs, either slaughtered or ready for slaughter, to the southern Mediterranean and to other EU countries where the large Moslem population has not been able to travel home for their traditional celebrations, many of which involve lamb banquets.

Travel

From Monday 23rd PCR test for all travellers to Spain from risk countries is mandatory

From this Monday, international travellers arriving in Spain via air and sea from an area considered "at risk" must present a negative PCR, carried out within 72 hours prior to arrival, in order to enter the country.

Overland travellers to Spain are exempt from the entry requirements and are therefore not currently required to present a PCR test or Health Control Form on entry by road or rail. Click for full article and information about driving down through France.

We now know that the following regions of Spain are intending to keep their external regional borders closed until after December 9th, so holidaymakers are not welcome to travel to these areas: Andalucía, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Cataluña, La Rioja, Navarra, Madrid, Murcia, País Vasco, la Comunidad Valenciana and the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.

Travellers to the UK can halve quarantine by paying for a covid test.

The latest set of announcements from Boris Johnson has done little to clear the air about whether travellers will be able to once again take a winter holiday break when the UK lockdown ends on 2nd December.

Those attempting to travel to Spain have faced months of endless disruption, with travel restrictions, quarantines, lockdowns and multiple flight cancellations, but it looks as though those hoping to get to Spain for a seasonal holiday may be disappointed.

No details have yet been released about whether the UK will drop its travel ban for residents wishing to travel abroad, although it has been announced that those arriving in England from abroad will be soon able to reduce their quarantine by more than half, if they pay for a Covid test after five days, according to the transport secretary.

These new rules will come into force from 15th December onwards, allowing the public to contract a private test at between £65 and £120 a time, if they wish to reduce their quarantine time. It’s an option for some, but will add quite a sizeable chunk of revenue to the cost of a family holiday.

Passengers who arrive from a foreign destination not on the government's travel corridors list will still need to enter self-isolation, but can pay for a test after five days, and if it comes back negative, they will no longer need to self-isolate.Click for full article

Covid Murcia:

The Covid situation in the Region of Murcia has been steadily improving throughout the last week as the numbers of new covid cases diagnosed on a daily basis continues to fall, bringing the accumulated incidence rate (the rate per 100,000 of population) down with it.

At the beginning of November, the region was reporting an accumulated incidence rate of 900 over a 14 day period, a figure which this Friday is now 327. The 7 day figure has now fallen to 117, and the percentage of PCR tests returning a positive result has fallen to 6.5%.

The evolution of the number of cases can clearly be seen in the graph above, which shows how the number of cases reported has fallen drastically in the last month;  On Friday 16th October the Murcia Region had 27,381 cases. By the 20th November it had reached 50,862 and today it is 52,754.

This is an increase of just 1892 new cases in the last 7 days, compared to 2,914 last week and 5.487 the week before, so a significant reduction in the number of new cases.

This, in turn, brings down the AI rate; at the beginning of November, the region was reporting an accumulated incidence rate of 900 over a 14 day period, a figure which this Friday is now 327. The 7 day figure has now fallen to 117, and the percentage of PCR tests returning a positive result has fallen to 6.5%. all positive news and a positve evolution of the virus here.

However, the situation is worsening in some municipalities of the region and this can be seen looking at the figures below, which show the 7 and 14 day numbers of cases by municipality. (if the first figure is less than half of the second, then the rate of infections is falling...).

Number of new cases in the last 7 and 14 days by municipality:
Note, the first figure shown is the actual number of cases diagnosed in the last 7 days, the second is the total in the last 14 days, and the third is the AI rate for the last 7 days:
Abanilla 8/23/130( This means 8 cases in the last 7 days, 23 cases in 14 days and an AI rate of 130 per 100,000 over the last 7 days)
Abarán 9/19/69
Águilas 26/60/73
Albudeite 6/9/437
Alcantarilla 40/131/95
Aledo 0/4/0
Los Alcázares 58/110/359
Alguazas 11/26/114
Alhama de Murcia 39/114/176
Archena 27/79/139
Beniel 6/15/53
Blanca 10/19/152
Bullas 8/17/69
Calasparra 26/47/255
Campos del Río 1/3/49
Caravaca de la Cruz 50/163/194
Cartagena 164/415/76
Cehegín 17/72/113
Ceutí 12/33/101
Cieza 21/90/60
Fortuna 9/14/89
Fuente Álamo 14/57/84
Jumilla 53/156/207
Librilla 1/8/18
Lorca 100/332/105
Lorquí 3/7/42
Mazarrón 51/87/158
Molina de Segura 67/157/93
Moratalla 8/15/102
Mula 19/52/112
Murcia 364/1192/83
Ojós 0
Pliego 3/12/78
Puerto Lumbreras 33/59/214
Ricote 1/4/79
San Javier 75/166/230
San Pedro del Pinatar 34/701/133
Santomera 10/29/61
Torre Pacheco 75/201/210
Las Torres de Cotillas 22/43/102
Totana 99/249/309
Ulea 1/1/114
La Unión 17/65/84
Villanueva del Río Segura 2/6/68
Yecla 101/336/293
Those from other regions diagnosed in Murcia 44
Total 1746 . Acumulated AI rate in the last 7 days: 116. IA rate for the last 14 days 326.
These figures have all fallen significantly this week, which will have a knock-on effect on the number of hospitalisations moving forward, providing there is no resurgence in new cases.

The worst-affected municipalities in the region over the last 7 days are; Albudeite with 437 per 100,000, Los Alcázares 359, Totana 309, Yecla 293, Calasparra 255, San Javier 230, Puerto Lumbreras 214, Torre Pacheco 210, Jumilla 207, Caravaca 194, Alhama 176,Mazarrón 158, Blanca 152, Archena 139, San Pedro 133, Abanilla 130.(these are all above the regional average).

Hospitalisations:

The number of new cases is important as the virus generally follows a pattern of new cases this week and hospitalisations 1-3 weeks later, so the falling numbers of new cases will hopefully lead to an easing in hospitalisations and this week we have certainly seen a fall in the pressure on the hospital system.

By Friday there were 426 patients in hospital with covid and 93 in intensive care. Two weeks ago there were 626 covid patients in hospital; this fell to 534 last week, so a clear improvement in the situation can be seen. Two weeks ago the numbers in intensive care peaked at 109; today there are 93, so again, an improvement.

Fatalities: The number of fatalities has fallen this week; two weeks ago there were 85 deaths, last week 73, and this week 63, taking the overall total to 596, but this is still a lot higher than in the first wave when there were only 150 in total. By the end of the coming week the total will pass 600, making the number of deaths for this second wave at least 3 times higher than in the first wave.

The number of recovered patients continues to grow, reaching 42,924. In total the region has now diagnosed 52,754 cases since the pandemic began, and the total number of active cases has fallen to 7,528 as of today.

The regional government wants to bring this down a lot further, but is talking optimistically about being able to open up movement between municipalities in time for the festive season and is amongst those pressuring the national government to permit larger groups to gather between Christmas and Three Kings, providing the re-opening of the hostelry sector is not followed by a rise in case numbers.

Other news Murcia:

17 additional municipalities permitted to open bars and restaurants from Wednesday onwards. As promised, the regional government reviewed the data relating to the current coronavirus situation and on Monday authorised the bars and restaurants in a further 17 municipalities to re-open their external terrace areas to 75% capacity. 10 areas may now open terrace areas to 100% capacity. In all cases, table spacing must be observed and clients must wear masks at all times other than when sipping a drink or eating a mouthful of food. The situation will once again be reviewed on Monday. Click for full details

Man arrested after huge clandestine landfill is discovered in Fuente Álamo.A 63-year-old man from Fuente Álamo has been arrested as an alleged perpetrator of crimes against natural resources and the environment. Click to read the full article

Los Alcázares launches Christmas shopping campaign to help local traders: Click to read

Cartagena Nativity scene being installed in Plaza San Francisco.As normal, the San Francisco Belén returns to the Plaza san Francisco in the heart of the old quarter of Cartagena, bringing the timeless story of the Christmas Nativity to the city. Click to read

San Pedro del Pinatar launches Christmas shopping promotion to support local businesses. Members of the public will get the chance to win either cash prizes or gifts when they buy products from shops and businesses within the municipality of San Pedro del Pinatar in the run-up to the festive season. Click to read

San Javier Council reallocates € 1.4m of festivities money for Covid-related expenses. Money normally spent on summer cultural events, sporting competitions and festivities has been re-allocated to pay for additional measures required during the coronavirus pandemic: Click to read

Decisions won´t be taken about Semana Santa 2021 in Cartagena until 15 days before.The Junta de Cofradías who run the Semana Santa Easter celebrations and processions in Cartagena have decided that a decision won´t be taken until 15 days before Viernes de Dolores next year about whether the normal programme of parades will go ahead or not.

This year the processions were cancelled virtually everywhere at the last minute as the Covid-19 pandemic hit Spain hard, and even though Christmas hasn´t even begun in earnest yet, the huge amount of organisation required necessitates decisions being made months in advance.

At this moment in time there is no way of knowing whether the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be over, and although there are high hopes that a programme of vaccinations will be well underway by the time Easter approaches, it’s not advisable to make too many plans at the moment. Carnival has already been cancelled all over Spain due to the difficulty in rehearsing and preparing for such an inclusive event so early in the new year, and although the events relating to Semana Santa are less risky for participants, they always draw large crowds and therefore imply a significant covid risk. Click to read

Cultivation of aromatic plants in North-west Murcia slowly expanding.In 2019 the Murcia Region produced 44 tons of essential oils extracted from aromatic plants.The growth of aromatic plants from which essential oils are extracted has been a part of the agricultural sector for many years, particularly in the north-west of the Murcia region, outlying dry areas of Lorca and inland areas where there is a lack of irrigation water, but the soil and hot conditions permit the growth of plants such as lavender, thyme, rosemary and sage. From all of these, essential oils used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries can be extracted. All of the cultivation is organic, and supporting this sector is being viewed also as a means of helping to encourage agricultural activity in areas without irrigation, and as a tool to help fight the depopulation of dry cultivation rural areas, in line with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union, which supports agriculture that is more respectful of the natural environment. Click to read full article

Cartagena council approves plan for tourist trains in the city centre: Click to read

Injured buzzard rescued in Alhama de Murcia.The common buzzard is an opportunistic predator that can take a wide variety of prey, but it feeds mostly on small mammals, especially rodents such as voles.Click to read

Los Alcazares hostelry sector demands the right to open; the sector has been out protesting on the streets this week demanding the right to work, but as the municipality has the second highest covid rate in the region over 7 days, there is little chance that this will happen next week. Click to read.

Mar Menor:

Right -wing politics threaten Mar Menor Protection Law.The Constitutional Court has accepted an appeal presented by Vox and will review the legislation.

In July political differences were temporarily put aside as the regional parliament of Murcia voted to approve new legislation designed to try and resolve some of the long-standing issues faced by the Mar Menor, the Ley de Protección y Recuperación Integral del Mar Menor.
The new laws aimed to correct the damage done to the Mar Menor over the last couple of decades and put in place preventative reforms to prevent the problems reoccurring.(Click for background information about the situation facing the Mar Menor)

But the law will once again be scrutinised during the coming weeks at the Spanish Constitutional Court in Madrid, after far- right wing political party Vox demanded that the legislation be changed. Click to read full article.

49 agriculturalists to be investigated individually for illegal use of water relating to Mar Menor deterioration.

Ángel Garrote, the investigating judge in the “Topillo” case (which concerns the illegal use and treatment of water from the aquifer beneath the Campo de Cartagena for irrigation farming), has issued an order for the cases of 49 agricultural concerns to be dealt with individually rather than as part of a collective investigation brought by the Guardia Civíl.

The evidence prepared by the Guardia Civíl and gathered after an extensive investigation into the illegal drilling of wells, construction of illicit desalination plants, illegal use of water and the contamination of both the water aquifer below the Campo de Cartagena and the Mar Menor via agricultural chemicals relates to more than 200 agricultural concerns and has taken three years to compile.

The judge has made the decision to split off the cases which are believed to warrant an individual criminal investigation, while at the same time deeming the investigations into 14 more companies closed after having found insufficient incriminating evidence.

The investigations are important not only because they concern the possible illegal use of water from the aquifer, but because the treatment of water extracted results in the creation of waste water which, when it eventually makes its way to the Mar Menor, has contributed over the last 50 years or so to the deterioration of the marine environment in the lagoon. Click to read.

Work begins on bathing platforms for Los Urrutias, Punta Brava and Estrella de Mar.Three further platforms are planned for Los Nietos and Los Alcázares and Cartagena will re-use the metal platforms used for such a short period of time this summer

Work began on Monday to install five permanent bathing platforms in the Mar Menor ready for next summer, the locations chosen being Los Urrutias, Punta Brava and Estrella de Mar.

Three further platforms are planned; two for Los Nietos and one for the Playa Carrión in Los Alcázares which are currently undergoing the necessary bureaucratic process to license them.The project will cost 1.2 million euros and is being financed by the regional government with the work expected to be completed by February 2021. Click here to read full article

Cartagena researchers find microplastics in intensively farmed sheep in Murcia Region.A team of researchers from the European Diverfarming project, coordinated by the UPCT, has found microplastics in 92% of the faeces of sheep that are fed in areas of intensive agriculture in the Region of Murcia.The practice of mulching is being blamed for the excessive amounts of plastic in the soil as farmers often use plastic sheets to cover young crops in order to increase productivity and reduce the use of water. This plastic is not easily eradicated and leeches into the soil, the action of wind, rain and the sun breaking it down into tiny particles, causing harmful microscopic fibres to enter the diet of livestock which are fed on whatever is left after the harvest.
"Despite the negative effects of plastic and its accumulation in areas of intensive agriculture, it is very difficult to get rid of this material since the use of techniques such as mulching allows saving water and pesticides, something decisive in semi-arid areas and with lack of rainfall as is the case in the Murcian area ", they say. Click to read

Spanish waters face the threat of becoming massive plastic traps.

A study carried out by the ocean conservation group Oceana, has found that certain areas of Spain, particularly large coastal towns and the mouths of rivers, are in danger of becoming massive “plastic traps” as more and more plastic waste accumulates there.

According to Oceana, 92.4 per cent of Spanish waters are very deep (at least 200 metres), the second highest proportion among EU countries, and it is therefore not feasible to remove plastic from them, and at the same time, 99 per cent of all plastics which end up in the sea sink to the bottom rather than remaining on the surface. This means that once plastic is in the ocean it will stay there for a very long time indeed, many compounds not decomposing for 500 years or more.Click to read the full article

The reality of what all of this data actually means is this image; a dead turtle, wrapped in plastic waste washed up on the beach this week in La Manga del Mar Menor and found by a reader, a heartbreaking image of a marine creature which has paid the price for our negligence and disinterest.

Other news Spain:

Transport Minister considers extending toll charges on motorways in Spain. The scheme would run alongside the phasing out of tolls on roads run by concessionaries. Click to read

Environmental agent detained as investigation into the death of wild bear in the Catalan Pyrenees continues.It is now seven months since the environmental protection service of the Valle de Arán, in the Catalan Pyrenees, reported the death of Cachou, a 6-year-old wild bear who had gained notoriety for his numerous attacks on horses, and the investigations into the circumstances surrounding his demise have now resulted in the arrest of one of the environmental guards.

Cachou’s body was found in April at the bottom of a 40-metre precipice and the first reports suggested that he had fallen during a fight with another bear. However, there was a suspicion of foul play, not least due to the numerous enemies the bear had made while acquiring a taste for attacking horses: at one point in September 2019 he was responsible for at least five attacks on grazing mares and foals in just a fortnight, and locals were demanding that he somehow be removed.

But this posed a tricky problem for the local authorities in Arán, which belongs to the Piros Life project to protect wild bears in the Pyrenees, and after the regional government of Catalunya debated the best course of action it was decided to impregnate the remains of dead horses with a fungicide which would cause Cachou indigestion, eventually leading him to give up horse meat. It was soon after this initiative that the animal was found dead, leading ecologists to conclude that he had been poisoned by someone with less patience who had taken matters into their own hands.

But even the ecologists have been stunned by the news that the judge investigating the affair has ordered the detention of one of the environmental guards in Arán (and a member of the “Bear Brigade”), and Joan Vázquez of the Ipcena conservation institute describes it as being “like a Guardia Civil robbing the Banco de España”.

The judicial investigation continues in secrecy, the first time in Spanish legal history that such procedures have been adopted in the case of the death of a bear.

8 more drowned as the migratory crisis in the Canaries continues.The Navy rejects calls for a blockade to turn away migrants from Africa. Interior Minister rejects calls to transfer the migrants to mainland Spain and instead creates camps able to home 7,000 people on the islands.The migratory crisis in the Canary Islands continues to show little sign of abating as hundreds of people crowd onto small boats in an attempt to enter Spanish and EU territory from Africa via the Atlantic, and earlier this week the situation once again hit the headlines when eight migrants lost their lives on reaching the small harbour of Órzola in the north of Lanzarote.

Their boat capsized in choppy sea conditions after colliding with a jetty just hours after another small vessel with 28 occupants had reached the nearby island of La Graciosa, and the emergency services staff already attending to those who had reached land rapidly turned their attention to searching for the survivors of the sunken craft. 27 were found, some of them by local residents who bravely took to the water to help the rescue operation, and although all of those brought safe and sound to land were males they reported that among their companions had been women and children.Click to read full article

The whole situation is causing fierce political arguments as thousands are now being put into temporary camps on the islands, there is no plan to move them to the mainland and Spain must manage the situation without intervention from the EU. Meanwhile more boats continue to arrive and winter is coming.

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