I did crack a joke at the end [about his planned holiday] against myself but the principle point was that this is a very serious situation. The incidence of the virus is higher in north-east Spain [but] it is the case that the incidence of the virus is rising across Spain.
The advice we were given from the chief medical officer and the joint biosecurity centre was pretty clear, that we needed to take action. There was an open discussion about both the speed with which we should take action and also whether or not the restrictions should apply to the Balearic islands and to the Canary islands as well.
And the consensus view, from all four administrations, was that it was better to take the most cautious approach in terms of public health at this point, and that was to extend the ban to all of Spain, and to do so at the quickest practical effective timescale. And that was a shared decision over all.
So the fact that I may now have to alter my holiday plans is irrelevant to this decision. It’s an inconvenience for me but that’s nothing compared to the importance of putting public health first.
