Minister Cortes’ Statement - Thursday COVID-19 Briefing
Here’s the full text of Minister Cortes’ opening statement at this afternoon’s COVID-19 briefing:
Good afternoon from No 6 Convent Place, and welcome to today’s update on the COVID-19 situation.
Today I co-host the press conference with my friend and colleague the Minister for Digital and Financial Services, Albert Isola.
I must start by clearly stating that the Government notes but does not agree with the Guidance Note issued by the Data Commissioner today on the question of temperature scanning of clients by private businesses. As a result and in order to give private businesses legal certainty in this area Government is making the appropriate regulations to put the matter beyond any doubt. This will enable firms to follow the advice and guidelines of Public Health officials without any fear of breaching any legislation. At this time, it is essential for the benefit of the entire community that technology is used wherever possible in our fight against this virus.
This is a particularly difficult time, and confusing. So much to take in, so many things that have changed have to change back, or not quite back.
We published the Unlock the Rock document just 48 hours ago. The document takes some reading and understanding, and there will be people who are concerned about knowing what to do or not to do.
This is to be expected. Getting back to the new normality will be confusing, difficult. And what is more confusing still, even for us trying to lead, is that things continue to change. Knowledge continues to develop, and advice has to keep track of that.
As the Chief Minister said one Tuesday, much has not been set in stone in the document - because it cannot be.
The essence of it is that from next week much of the legal constraint will go. But I repeat again: the virus is still there. Indeed still here. And it is still a killer.
So the advice must be: Stay at home. Home is the safest place to be; and stay away from close contact with anybody not from your household. Yes, it still sounds terrible. It’s hard even to say it, but it is sound advice.
Remember, this is a deadly disease. Tens of thousands who would be alive today, who were alive last Christmas, have died.
In the UK alone, yesterday another 494 people died of Covid-19. 33,186 have died there in total; and 296,000 worldwide. We in Gibraltar are not immune to this. And the virus is there, lurking.
It was interesting to hear a question from the media a couple of days ago, questioning the Director of Public Health’s prediction of a large number of cases, and indeed deaths. This was well dealt with by both Dr Bhatti and the Chief Minister, but I would just like to add something here.
We first heard about the mystery Wuhan virus at the end of December. Then it was a news story only and many thought that it would go away without affecting us.
But the Director of Public Health discussed the potential problem with me in early in January. As Minister for Public Health I had to take the discussion to the Chief Minister and to Cabinet, before it became a civil contingency issue with the lead then taken of course by my colleague Samantha Sacramento as Minister for Civil Contingencies. It now all seems so long ago.
But in those early days, remember what this looked like. We had the TV images of Wuhan in Lockdown. A city of millions - never before had this been seen anywhere. People were dying in hospital corridors, new hospitals were being built almost overnight.
Indeed in mid March, the WHO was predicting 3.4% mortality of infected cases. Seeing what was happening in Wuhan, expecting an 80% infection rate (without hand washing, gel, social distancing, and so on, so familiar now but which were not really in the vocabulary then) was not unreasonable. But even if we had predicted 40%, or lower still, 10% infection rates, the deaths, based on the WHO view at the time, would have been over one hundred. At the time, and without the benefit of hindsight, it was not an unjustified assumption or prediction. Indeed even if only 2.5% were infected the WHO-based prediction was of 60 deaths. Thanks to the measures we brought in based on that advice, we have so far weathered the storm with success.
So the advice was well given in the context of what was known. It allowed us to respond, and respond we did.
As we know, we won the first round. Keeping the figures down is squarely down to us and how we behave in coming weeks and months.
AIR QUALITY
In my last press conference I gave some information on air quality and how this had improved since lockdown. The latest update which runs up to yesterday and which I have only just received, shows that pollution levels still remain lower than before the lockdown, despite the partial easing last week. Last Thursday on Viewpoint I also gave some information on improved air quality which some have questioned on social media. They appear to have misunderstood what I said.
For Devil’s Tower Road for example, I compared the maximum before and after lockdown as approximately 160 ug per cubic metre before as opposed to 110 ug after. The criticism was that these are still high values because the EU standard is 40. This would be correct if I had talking about the mean of the readings. But I was referring to the MAXIMUM levels, at particular times on particular days. The average is below 40.
With respect to particles, the so-called PM2.5, as this graph shows the maximum in December was on one occasion about 40, while in April, and even in May, it has been as low as 2 and averaging a lot less than before lockdown. These last data are from the new AQ mesh devices that were deployed most recently.
This other graph, called a violin graph, shows in a different way how the bulk of readings after lockdown has been lower than before.
A full report with all the information will be published by the Department of Environment & Climate Change in due course.
Heritage and Culture
I will now turn to some other areas of my responsibility, Culture and Heritage.
Monday 18th is International Museums Day. Sadly this year this very popular event will be held in virtual space with intensified Virtual Museum activity on Monday.
Since the Virtual Museum commenced eight weeks ago, on 17th March, there have been more than 130 thousand visits to its posts on Facebook. Of these, around 83 thousand (close to 64%) have actually been engagements with the posts. This is a remarkable statistic which reflects the growth of local interest in the museum, and in Gibraltar’s rich history and natural history, during lockdown. Since the start of the virtual museum, the museum’s following also increased dramatically by around 1,250 to a total of 5,155 on Tuesday 12th March; an estimated 77% of these are from Gibraltar.
Since the Virtual Museum started the museum team has managed to post 162 stories on Facebook and Twitter with 157 on Instagram.
This is a remarkable three posts per day, including weekends and public holidays. The Virtual Museum Open Day will surpass these figures as the museum’s curators and support team plan to make the 18th May a day of intensified activity that will keep followers entertained throughout the day.
Just as is the case in Sport, Gibraltar has a huge and highly successful cultural community, of people who have kept us entertained during this time, and continue to do so. Artists too are painting and sculpting - and we hope to exhibit their Lockdown work in the future.
In the meantime a lot is going on in what we call Culture in Lockdown, with Gibraltar Cultural Services going all out with their work on behalf of the Ministry of Culture.
Our online programme continues. In the next two weeks this will include an array of cultural activities including material form our cultural archives. We will share with our online viewers the Gibraltar National Dance Championships of 1991; A Gibraltar Youth Centre 1980’s documentary called the Young Ones; 1992 Rock or Wot show held at St Michael’s Cave; and the 1992 performance of Jesus Christ Superstar also staged at St Michael’s Cave. You may even recognise me somewhere in that one!
- The Virtual Tour of the Mario Finlayson Gallery is now online on GCS social media portals.
- We have launched Arty Tuesdays in conjunction with the Tourist Board and Visit Gibraltar sharing art works by our local artists. These works are on display at one of Gibraltar’s Galleries or as part of the Governments Art Collection
- 48 artists have signed up for the Frontline Workers project and will be painting portraits for free. This will culminate in an exhibition, dates to be confirmed after lockdown has been lifted.
- 26 individuals have expressed an interest in the LEGO exhibition. This will culminate in an exhibition, dates also to be confirmed after lockdown has been lifted.
- The John Mackintosh Hall Library continues with its lockdown initiatives including storytelling online sessions, book reviews, the popular lockdown reads ,all of these on social media; and delivering books to elderly estates and the cancer relief stand at Morrison’s.
- The GCS Art in Gibraltar project is also thriving. Printables, art descripts and short art clips are being produced by the team at GCS to ensure the community continues to be active at home during lockdown.
- Culture TV is being updated and finalised and we aim to release this platform in the first week of June.
- Short Story and Art Competitions continue with the 2nd competition having a closing date of this Friday, 15th May.
- 50 artists have submitted a total of 92 digital entries for this year’s Spring Art Competition. We hope to be announcing the winners soon.
As you can see, we are all gearing up to bringing Culture back with vengeance in a really big way as soon as we possibly can. There will be no better way of celebrating Gibraltar and the Gibraltarians and how we will have pulled through this!
In keeping with the Unlock the Rock guidelines, and again, subject to change, the aim is to reopen the National Museum, the John Mackintosh Hall Library, the Garrison Library and our exhibition galleries after the bank holiday on Tuesday 26th. More details will be published next week, but this will be with social distancing and hand sanitising ensured and by pre-booked appointments only.
This last Tuesday, together with my team from Culture, I met with the heads of dance schools, drama groups and academies to discuss how they can unlock. Some of course have been continuing their lessons online.
We have advised them that we are aiming for them to open in some form at the same time as the schools re-open on the 26th May. They will need to amend their activities and programmes to ensure physical distance, have hand sanitising available and ensure regular deep cleaning of premises. We are expecting each school to submit proposals on how they intend to re-open, if indeed they choose to, so that their plans can be scrutinised for public health issues before they do so.
The issue of public gatherings and large events is also being considered. These continue to be a serious cause for concern as they would provide this killer virus the ideal opportunity to spread even if only one or two infected individuals are present. We will take no risks.
Theatrical performances, and indeed cinemas, can control this better. Provided enough time and space is allowed for queuing and seats are designated with space between them, this can possibly be released a little sooner. The Unlock document sets the main guidelines for this.
As from 1 June, in UNLOCK PHASE 3, performances will be allowed - as long as the performers respect distancing - and without audience, for recording and/or streaming.
Our present proposals, as always subject to change, are that in UNLOCK PHASE 6, from the 3 August, our theatres will allow 1/3 of the audience, from 5 October 1/2 of the audience and, fingers crossed, a full audience from 30 November.
The performing arts community has been patiently waiting, and is raring to go. Let’s hope we can see all of you on stage soon.
The question of reopening places of worship is also under consideration in UNLOCK PHASE 3 after 1 June.
This is not easy - clearly more difficult than opening a theatre or cinema. There will be many faithful who anxiously await the time that they can return to collective worship. And it will be difficult to control numbers and distancing.
I will be meeting religious leaders next week to discuss the way forward. I am grateful to them for having cooperated from the very start, and I look forward to constructive discussions as we look to return to some normality.
Yesterday I accompanied the Chief Minister and other colleagues on a visit to the new public health screening laboratory at the university of Gibraltar. I want to thank the University for making its excellent facilities available, at some sacrifice to their PhD students, for this most important purpose. I also thank the GHA and its lab for the support in setting this up. And of course, Dr Nick Cortes (no relation) the GHA’s Consultant Microbiologist for his invaluable contribution.
The new Public Health laboratory will be able to process 300 tests a day with the possibility of increasing this further in the future. We have come a long way in just two months. This will allow us to test systematically and regularly, starting with frontline workers and those who are exposed to many people and who so are the most likely to be exposed to infection.
Followed up with the antibody test which we expect to receive next month as explained by Dr Rawal yesterday, this will allow us the opportunity to better understand what is happening in the community with respect to the virus and, with aggressive contact tracing, we hope to be able to isolate and obliterate the virus whenever it appears.
This means that those testing positive, and their household, will have to self-isolate for ten days, as will their contacts.
This may appear tough, but it will mean we isolate the virus too, and as the person overcomes it, we kill the virus and so try make the outbreak die out completely in our community. This aggressive approach to positives means that the rest of us will be more protected and be more unlocked than would otherwise be possible.
And now to today’s situation report:
A&E
At A&E, in the 24 hours to 8.30 this morning, there were 46 attendances. Of these only 3 were with COVID symptoms, 2 in the day and 1 overnight. There was one admission to the COVID CCU. The patient was swabbed and is negative. So we can once again say, happily, that there after no patients with COVID in any of our hospital facilities.
HOSPITAL BEDS
Talking of the GHA facilities, there are currently 410 beds available in all the facilities, including Elderly Residential Services,
TEST RESULTS
The latest test results are as follows:
Let me just comment that the figure of 148 two days ago was incorrect and was due to a person already known as positive testing positive again - one of the 3 active ones. This result was erroneously added to the total when the person was already included in the 147. We apologise for that.
So it’s still looking reassuring.
But let’s not forget we still have work to do in order to beat this bug.
As we release the restrictions, we have to be even more aware, even more wary. The virus is deadly and it is still at large.
The advice is still to stay at home is you possibly can. Wash hands. Keep your distance.
And with that, I hand over to another person with clean, recently washed hands, and at an appropriate distance, my colleague Albert Isola.
