Which was a good intro for today, as the Rock moves into Phase 6 of the unlocking the Rock programme. A phase that allows for the loosening of certain sports measures as well as reviewing all other current measures.

Positivity is the key, Gibraltar can afford to boast, but not only on testing, as the Chief Minister declared we are the 1st in the world and top of the league for testing per million of population.

As it happens, the next unlocking phase starting today, also coincides with a resurgence of the coronavirus in several countries and regions. In Europe, some of the places that opened up too early have had to lock down all over again.

Additionally, and importantly so, countries like Spain, Italy and Greece have had to introduce the mandatory wearing of masks. While the UK, continues to confuse the nation about the wearing of face masks. It now appears, that face coverings or masks in Britain will become compulsory in shops and confined spaces, this after, Boris Johnson all but confirmed on Monday that as from the 24 July UK police would begin enforcing these rules.

Few Changes With Phase 6

Back home, with the start of Phase 6 today, which really doesn’t bring any major changes, its more of a reviewing phase or platform for the full unlocking in a couple of weeks’ but as the CM advised in his press conference this week, the government will continue to guide itself by Public Health advice.

This is the penultimate unlock phase before the 1 August or full unlock, and with more than 30 more countries dropped from the various travel bans across Europe, it becomes an important occurrence in the Covid saga, which is hoped will help pull the economies out of the pandemic slump!

Yet, while most of Europe go for the face mask health strategy. Passengers arriving in Gibraltar from the UK and who knows where else, and the now growing number of frontier visitors entering by land do so, with not much more than a temperature check lying between them and contact with the local population!

Ideally, Gibraltar will or should only allow in tourists and visitors alike from genuinely safe countries or regions. It is hoped that health concerns have not been too compromised in the latest relaxation of measures and that local public health advice is picking up on the decisions being taken generally elsewhere, particularly, regarding the wearing of face masks. But it’s hard to see how the virus can be prevented from re-entering Gibraltar, especially with little by way of any sturdier checks at entry points!

With over 570,000 deaths and nearly 13 million cases world-wide, it has also been established through studies, that a large number of coronavirus carriers are symptom free but still able to spread the virus.

It is therefore important to acknowledge that fully opening-up, even with preventive measures in place at entry point into Gibraltar… comes with risks?

As much, as I personally hate what the virus has done so far, with thousands of lives lost, the human suffering, the massive changes to our way of life, including, what the pandemic has done to the world in leaving a huge economic global hole everywhere. In Gibraltar’s case, as in many other places, it will be a hugely difficult task to return to a pre-pandemic economic situation.

Even more difficult and concerning, because of our size and with limited economical back up resources compared to what larger nations obviously have and can obtain. And why in my opinion, it is important that Gibraltar does not continue spending at the same rate of knots as it has been doing, but that’s another issue!

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15-07-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR