As Gibraltar moves to greater normality, the world around us remains in crisis

And so the situation in Gibraltar remains good and we can continue with unlocking the Rock with the aim of achieving Rock Unlock on 1 August.

But please let us remember that that does not mean a return to where we were before. Its does not mean that we can pretend this never happened and that there isn’t a deadly disease out there that has killed many thousands and that can quickly come back.

There are those who, even locally, are using social media to try and give the impression that this is not serious, that there is nothing to worry about. People who do that could be playing with your lives and those of your loved ones, particularly the elderly.

ELSEWHERE

It is important that we remain aware of what is happening round the world, and even very close to us.

This weekend on successive days the world had the highest global infection rate figures since the pandemic began.

There were one million new cases worldwide between Monday and Friday of last week, with an all time highest report of daily-cases-in-24-hours topping a quarter of a million.

Brazil has just hit two million cases, India a million and US 3.7 million.

In neighbouring Morocco, Tangier alone has over 3000 positive cases.

Spain’s daily coronavirus infections have just hit the highest since the 10th of May. Spain in fact reported the steepest daily jump in coronavirus infections in over two months over the past few days, with the regions of Aragón and Catalunya leading the increase. There are around 150 outbreaks around the country, with lockdowns returning in several areas.

And there are many hundreds of deaths daily across the world.

It is important to remember too, that the potential for negative long term health effects, particularly on lung and brain health, are only now emerging - and is one of the aspects stressed at last week’s virtual meeting with the World Health Organisation’s Professor David Heymann,

What is happening around the would can still happen here, if we drop our guard. So we must NOT:

On 1 August we do not put the clock back to 1 March. There will still be new COVID-related rules to follow.

Another of the points discussed with Professor Heymann was progress on vaccines. There seem to be positive developments but sadly even if an effective vaccine is developed soon, nothing is likely to be widely available until well into next year.

So please remember all of this and let’s all have-it as a sobering backdrop, as in Gibraltar we continue to unlock and to enjoy our summer.

SPORTS COMING BACK

The Chief Minister last week gave details of how sporting activities are coming back during this time.

Cultural activities are also slowly returning, always within the laws and guidelines currently in place.

Dance schools and academies are resuming classes, under Public Health advice.

Cultural groups and individuals continue active as they have been during the whole pandemic, including the height of lockdown.

A Cultural Development Summer programme for young people, has been prepared by Cultural Services on behalf of the Ministry for Culture, offering opportunities for growth and development. The sessions will be fun and educational, some targeted at beginners and others more specialised and focused and will include an Art Treasure Hunt focusing on the Mario Finlayson National Gallery, with the aim that young people and their families appreciate the work of local artists and the interesting buildings within which their works are housed. The Library Summer Book club will also be held over the next few weeks, based at the John Mackintosh Hall Library.

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21-07-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR