Gibraltar: Most Vaccinated State on Planet Goes on 'Festive Lockdown' - What Really Happens
Gibraltar has canceled all Christmas celebrations due to the rapid rise in coronavirus cases.
In the last few hours, news has been circulating that Gibraltar, the "most vaccinated country in the world", is going into a "mild lockdown " and cancellation of the Christmas celebrations.
The truth is that the local government of Gibraltar, which belongs to Britain, has decided to tighten the measures for the surveillance of the pandemic due to the increase of cases that are observed in the region.
Last Friday, residents were instructed to limit social interactions as much as possible.
The state government has said residents will have to "judge for themselves" whether to hold Christmas events and "strongly advises against doing so", with an emphasis on the next four weeks.
Gibraltar has seen an increase in cases in recent days, averaging 66 per day. In addition, 95,407 vaccine doses have been given so far, which is enough to fully vaccinate 118% of the country 's population , which amounts to 33,000 permanent residents of the "rock" and the workers who come and go every day.
"Given the exponential increase in the number of cases, the government intends to cancel a number of its own events, such as official Christmas events, receptions and other gatherings," the government said in a statement.
"Citizens are being asked to act on their own judgment now, taking into account the current advice being given," he said.
It is also reported that the official festivities are postponed to later dates, when the crisis of the fourth wave that affects all of Europe will ease.
Official guidelines advise residents to meet outdoors, as far as possible, or indoors with the windows open, wear masks where necessary (ie indoors and on public transport) and keep their distance during meetings.
Masks are a must for all retail and supermarkets, on public transport, at medical centers, at any in-house event and at Gibraltar International Airport.
During this period, Gibraltar began to implement the third installment support program. In total, the "rock" has recorded 6,780 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with 98 deaths.
From the above it is clear that Gibraltar does not go to a national lockdown of the Austrian type (which would of course resemble a local one due to its size), but it proceeds with "strict recommendations" as it seems there is a part of the population with less immunity between doses, until advance the program of the third installment. Of course, foreign visitors come and go in the area to the companies housed there, except for the employees.
"The dramatic increase in the number of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days is a strong reminder that the virus is still active and widespread in our community and that it is the responsibility of all of us to take all reasonable steps to protect ourselves. "us and our loved ones," said Health Minister Samantha Sacramento.
It is noted that Gibraltar does not necessarily require a vaccination certificate to enter the country, but also receives visitors with a 48-hour PCR. Children under the age of 12 are excluded from the control, with the fourth wave of the pandemic appearing particularly at these ages. For this reason, Coreper is expected to approve the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years.
Gibraltar follows British case law when it comes to mandatory vaccinations, with the vaccine being mandatory for healthcare workers and nursing homes.
Unfortunately, the news that Gibraltar "closes" despite being fully vaccinated has become a "flag" on many sites with anti-vaccination sites, but which conceals the fact that the country has recorded zero deaths since mid-August . In fact, most of the deaths he recorded in one day, were on January 17, with 9 deaths. From the 25th of January onwards, it records zero loss of life, or a loss with a very long distance in the deaths.
In general, the country is trying to "save time" until full coverage with a third dose, while continuing to point out the importance of vaccinations that has resulted in not burdening the health system of the region.
Finally, it is worth noting that throughout the return to normalcy, the government reviews the measures on a weekly basis, while the use of a mask has never ceased to be recommended. The decisive factor, of course, in the full vaccination coverage, was the immediate delivery of preparations by the British government, but also its small size of only 6.5 sq.km.
