This makes Gibraltar the 1st in the world for testing per million of population

There are no cases in the cross-frontier worker class either.

The total number of swabs taken to test for COVID-19 now amounts to 16,239.

This makes Gibraltar the 1st in the world for testing per million of population.

It has been a huge effort for us to achieve this level of testing, but we have done it with the help and cooperation of our citizens and our healthcare professionals.

We have therefore already received 16,231 results, of which 16,025 have proved negative and 180 have proved positive. Of these, 179 are recovered.

Of those over-16,000 tests, 7,329 are swabs taken from our ongoing Frontline Targeted and Systematic Sampling.

And therefore, in light of this aggressive testing regime and these low numbers of prevalence of the virus, we continue the process of de-escalation.

So we will proceed to enter PHASE 6 on Wednesday the 15th July.

We are in good shape to move towards ROCK UNLOCKED on the 1st of August.

This is good news.

But I want to make it clear that we are not unlocking to a free-for-all.

We are unlocking to a new normal.

There will still be rules to comply with in relation to social distancing, self-isolation where appropriate and hand and respiratory hygiene.

We continue to follow the science on the use of masks also.

And it is also important to continue to take special precautions with the elderly – as any of us could be asymptomatic when we approach a member of the elderly cohort.

It is also relevant to remember what is happening in other places where clusters are emerging.

As many of us go away for short holidays, even if we do not go far, we have to remember to observe rules wherever we go and not to inadvertently bring the virus into Gibraltar.

Also, the Government has anecdotal reports of people planning ‘unlock parties’ for the1st August.

Please remember we are not out of the woods yet.

There is a low prevalence of the virus, but one case can spread like wildfire here.

So for us in Gibraltar it is a case of ‘steady as she goes’.

As a community, caution is the tone we have to set.

We have done so well to date, but we must not throw caution to the wind now.

Look at other places and see how quickly things can get worse if we are not careful.

For as long as there are people who are vulnerable to COVID-19 and who require it, this we will continue to be provided for them.

Therefore, moving into Phase 6, team sports will now be allowed to run small-sided games also.

For the time being competitions in team sports will not be allowed to resume as sessions still need to comply with the regulations restricting gatherings to a maximum of 20 persons.

In addition, a full competitive environment will undoubtedly result in increased physical contact both in nature and time frame so there will be close consultation with Public Health Gibraltar to start considering the return to competition in the future.

The progression through the Phases of the Unlock the Rock roadmap has meant a heightened awareness of sanitation procedures and contact tracing protocols.

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14-07-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR