Spanish Health Minister Rejects Calls for Migrant Confinement in Ceuta
2 sources across 2 countries · Argentina · Spain
Who reported this
- Infobae
- El Pais
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.
Spanish Health Minister Mónica García has stated that decreeing a confinement of migrants in Ceuta due to public health risks would be unjustified and totally disproportionate. The minister's comments follow a request from Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the People's Party (PP), who urged the government to consider confinement for those carrying infectious diseases. Feijóo cited reports of tuberculosis, scabies, varicela, and over 450 cases of gastroenteritis.
Minister García responded by clarifying that public health competencies belong to the autonomous government of Ceuta. She provided specific data to counter the claims, noting that there are three confirmed cases of tuberculosis, none of which are currently contagious. She stated that three suspected cases of varicela were not linked to the migrant population and that scabies is more common in Spain than previously thought. Regarding gastroenteritis, she disputed the 450 cases figure, stating that the Preventive Medicine service at the Ceuta Hospital studied 55 probable cases of invasive E. coli linked to non potable water, a situation she described as controlled.
García emphasized that the most urgent priority is providing migrants with proper housing, hygiene, and sanitation to control the risk of outbreaks. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health is convening an urgent meeting with autonomous communities to coordinate the shipment of vaccines, including those for polio, tetanus, diphtheria, and the triple viral vaccine. Javier Padilla, the Secretary of State for Health, is also traveling to Ceuta to analyze the sanitary situation.
Local reactions vary. Melchor León, the first vice president of the Assembly of Ceuta from the PSOE, criticized comments made by the Minister of Inclusion, Security Social and Migrations regarding hate and fake news. León asserted that Ceuta residents have responded with solidarity and aid, and he urged the government to provide clear figures and a date for the city to return to normality.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- This framing emphasizes the humanitarian need for housing and hygiene while highlighting local frustration with the government's handling of the crisis.
- Centre-right
- This framing focuses on the specific medical data provided by the Health Minister to debunk the claims of a public health emergency.
Sources
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.