Six steps to UNLOCK ROCK

The number of tests carried out now is 2,931.

We have 60 results pending.

We have received 2,871 results.

The number of confirmed cases remains static at 144.

The number of recovered cases is increased by 1 to 133.

The number of Active Cases is down to 11.

As at May the fourth, the number of deaths brought about in Gibraltar by THE PHANTOM MENACE that is the COVID-19 virus, remains zero.

And there are no patients confirmed with COVID-19 in any of our COVID wards or ERS.

This represents A NEW HOPE that we are winning the battle against COVID-19 unless THE VIRUS STRIKES BACK.

It is against that background that the Cabinet this morning has approved the Unlock the Rock document.

This will be our route map out of lockdown.

I expect we will be in a position to publish this document in the next 48 hours.

The document is comprehensive.

It is taking time to finalise this in order to be as full and useful as possible once the document is published.

And it is being compiled against the backdrop of an ever-changing scientific understanding of the COVID-19 virus.

I have shared it with the Leader of the Opposition and he has shared it with his team also.

I have consulted widely on it and will continue to do so.

Remember this has to be a dynamic document as we may need to change what we are going to do as the science continues to change.

Our unlocking plan will set out the six phases we presently expect to transit before we get back to ROCK UNLOCKED: PHASE NORMAL.

We are now already half a week into PHASE 1.

In this respect, we have seen retail shops, construction and hairdressers and beauticians able to reopen, but subject to some restrictions.

Our whole strategy to unlock rests on two key criteria.

The first is that the advice on social distancing and respiratory and personal hygiene should be followed.

And the second is massive testing, aggressive contact-tracing and enforced self-isolation in order to ensure that any future cluster of the disease does not become a surge.

In that respect let me elaborate a little further.

We must understand that we cannot go back to what we used to call normal, however much that may be our natural instinct, in particular when the sun shines.

A virus, like any other predator, is looking for us to relax our guard.

When we do, it will pounce. That will be when we see a new attack of the virus.

So in order to keep the virus at bay, to stop THE RETURN OF THE VIRUS, we must be able to come out of our homes once again, but to do so observing the rules of social distancing.

Otherwise we will see a second wave which would really enable the revenge of the virus to manifest on us.

That phrase, ‘the rules of social distancing’ is becoming quite ubiquitous these days.

We need to understand what it means and how difficult it is to write down in law and to police.

What it means is that we need to avoid touching each other, shaking hands, hugging etc outside of our household bubble.

Additionally, it means that we have to stay between a metre and two metres apart when we are not with our household grouping.

It also means that we have to avoid large crowds, as it may be harder to keep those distances if crowds accumulate in tight areas.

But let us be clear, asking law enforcement to police such rules is dystopian.

It would put huge pressure on police and it has severe repercussions in civil liberties’ terms.

So we must avoid that.

That is why to a great extent, in future, we will be policing ourselves and we have to have new norms of social behaviour, new values, which we apply to ourselves and expect of each other.

I think most if not all already understand this and there have been very few instances of concern in this respect.

Additionally, it is important that we should understand what we mean by ‘enforced self-isolation’.

This is likely to be coercive.

That means that we are looking at fines and if necessary enforced confinements – which would ultimately mean imprisonment – for people who refuse to self-isolate once they have been diagnosed.

Because a person who has been diagnosed would become a focus of contagion if they do not self-isolate.

We have concerns that this may be starting to become an issue and we will therefore be consulting on amendments to our regulations going forward requiring such people to self-isolate by compulsion of law.

This may seem draconian.

But it will be the only tool available to us if people are irresponsible enough to come into contact with others when they know that they are infectious.

Our detailed document will address more aspects of this.

But I must say that I think this weekend has gone well.

Our law enforcement agencies have done a magnificent job.

We just need to be mindful that although our retail shops are now open for limited hours, we are still ONLY allowed out to access a shop, alone.

We are NOT able to go out as a family to the shops.

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05-05-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR