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SAFE HAVEN ISSUE NO. 1844
5 - 11 November 2020
BENIDORM and the Marina Baja are bucking the national trend for increased Covid19 cases. At last count, the area had 70 coronavirus cases for every 100,000 inhabitants according to the Valencian Community’s Health department. This is very similar to the Ca nary Islands, at present the only Spanish region that both the UK and Germany class as a safe tourist destination. It also gives Benidorm an is land status within Alicante Province. Infection rates are reas suringly low there at a time when the Valencian Community, like most autonomous regions, has sealed its boundaries on a ‘no one out and noone in’ basis.
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Local Spanish media sources suggested that the good figures were linked to reduced mobility on the part of fewer people. This tendency was only inter rupted by the October 69 long weekend, when an influx of visi tors temporarily increased the in fection rate. Dr Rosa Cereceda, manager of the Marina Baja hospital, partly
BENIDORM ISLAND: A double symbol for the resort.
attributed the low Covid infection rate to PCR and antigen testing. “Rapid results allow us to con trol contacts,” Cereceda told the Press. Meanwhile, Benidorm mayor Toni Perez added that nobody should let their guard down: “We have done things properly, and that means a low infection rate.” Comparing Benidorm to an is
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land has not been lost on the town hall, hoteliers’ association Hosbec or the resort’s tourism in dustry. Last September the Benidorm Island concept of a safe corridor for British tourists had backing from Alicante’s provincial council, the Diputacion, and the region’s Tourist Board.
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