Coslada mayor asks Madrid Government to extend measures to his town

Ángel Viveros joins in the municipal petitioning to the regional authorities for tougher measures

Earlier today the mayor of Coslada, Ángel Viveros, held a press conference for the media during which he called to the Government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid to extend anti-epidemic restrictive measures to his municipality as well. This comes in the wake of a common statement issued yesterday by the mayors of seven municipalities in the south and east of the Spanish capital, criticizing the reluctance of Madrid President Isabel Ayuso to follow instructions by the National Health Ministry to cordon off the whole region to counteract the high rates of coronavirus infections there.

Coslada is a city of a little more than 80 000 inhabitants

Located in the east of the Madrid metropolitan area, Coslada is a city that numbers about 82 000 people and is home to the dry port that serves as a logistical hub for goods coming into the Spanish capital from the nation’s seaports.

According to statistics cited by Mayor Viveros, infection rates in his municipality are well over 500 per 100 000 people and in some areas, such as Ciudad 70 and Valleaguado they reach even more than 1000 per 100 000. This is what made him send a special request to President Ayuso to draw up a special emergency plan for Coslada.

Although the guidelines of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System had stipulated that restrictive measures should be applied to cities numbering more than 100 000 inhabitants, the mayor of Coslada is of the opinion that his town should be included in these measures due to its high density.

Another important factor for this decision was, in his words: “mobility, the constant connection with the capital, the fact that in our city the movement of people is permanent as it is a logistical hub and in addition, makes Coslada one of the most densely populated cities in all of Europe”.

That being said, Mayor Viveros was careful not to ingrain himself too closely in the political infighting that has erupted in recent days in the Madrid region. He expressed an apology to the general public for the “disagreements we have witnessed between politicians”. He chose instead to emphasize the efforts that his administration has been doing for the citizens since the start of the pandemic.