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12el Periòdic d’Andorrawww.elperiodic.ad DIMARTS, 10 DE JULIOL DEL 2018

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E N G L I S H E D I T I O N F R I 3 1

A group of young people who took part in sports stays at the Ice Palace in Canillo had to be isolated for prevention

after it was confirmed that they had been in contact with a new positive in the virus. In fact, as confirmed yes-terday at a press conference by the Mi-nister of Health, Joan Martínez Bena-zet, in the parish of Canillo, a small outbreak has been detected precise-ly among people between 16 and 20 years old.

Upon becoming aware of the ca-se, the medical authorities activated the protocols and proceeded to isola-te all the contacts of the young peo-ple, which includes the group of ath-letes, and the corresponding diagnos-tic tests were carried out.

Thus, pending the determination of these new tests, the Minister of He-alth yesterday confirmed 11 new posi-tive cases with respect to the latest up-date, placing the number of assets at 63 people. Thus, the total number of patients since the arrival of the pan-demic in the Principality was 918 pa-tients, 804 recovered and 52 deaths.

ATTENTION TO YOUNG PEOPLE / Accor-ding to the Ministry, the average age of most new cases is below 30 years. Therefore, Benazet wanted to send a message to the younger population, saying that despite «feeling invulne-rable», they must be co-responsible for the situation, emphasizing that while they can pass the disease wit-hout so many complications, they can become «vectors of transmissi-on”.

In any case, the minister recalled that the country has a good network of tools, both for detecting the disease and for tracking the isolates - thanks to the hundred trackers currently available - which make Andorra a sa-fe place. In this regard, Benazet said that currently, about 300 daily TMA tests are being performed «which are

They isolate 20 athletes in Canillo for being in contact with a case

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL UPDATE

The outbreak is said to have originated through a young man who travelled abroad and infected more young people.

Benazet calls for extreme precautions not to contribute to the spread of the virus

SFGA/JAVILADOT

33 The Minister of Health, Joan Martínez Benazet.

much more effective than PCR», and that the Executive intends to increa-se this figure towards the end of the summer and the return of the holi-days, because all new cases have be-en imported from abroad. The Mi-nister also explained that Andorra is part of the Covax project, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), which brings together several lines of research into a possible vaccine for Covid-19 and that, a once there is an effective one, an “equitable dis-tribution” will be made between all the member states of the project. In addition, they have also established contact with nearby countries so that they can take them into account in case they get a vaccine. On the other

hand, the Ministry of Health is also waiting for various medicines to treat the disease, especially in the autumn and winter, considering the fact that a prevention injection is unlikely at that time.

LESS RESTRICTIONS ON FOREIGNERS / At the session of the Council of Minis-ters, and at the request of the Minister of Health, it was approved to lift res-trictive measures on foreigners. Speci-fically, with the exception of the coun-tries of the European continent, peo-ple from outside could only access the Principality «for major demonstrable causes». Thus, from now on this requi-rement is cancelled but a home confi-nement of fifteen calendar days is im-

posed, which can be avoided if the im-munity to the infection is proven, or it can be reduced to seven days if the re-sults of diagnostic tests are negative.

SERVICE OF MEDICAL STAYS / Also with the will to avoid contagions, the Ministry of Health informed that from the 1st of August, it will be necessary to re-quest an appointment to be able to make use of the Service of Medical Per-manences, calling at 871017.

In fact, Benazet acknowledged that the health sector is still suffering from the tension caused by the delay in care due to inactivity during the pandemic, but considered it normal because «we all have pressure, in the end.» H

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«Young people may feel invulnerable, but they need to know that they can be vectorstransmission »

Joan M. BenazetMINISTER OF HEALTH

918people have suffered from Covid-19 in Andorra since the virus arrived in the country.

63active cases in this second wave of cases, 11 more since the last update.

804patients have already reco-vered from the disease, inclu-ding one of the last positives.

52deaths have caused the pan-demic in the Principality, a fi-gure that has been maintai-ned since May.

the figures

el Periòdic Newswww.elperiodic.ad el Periòdic NewsFRIDAY, 31 JULY 2020 13

A merger between Andor-ran banks would have «so-me logic» for the Minis-ter of Finance, Eric Jover,

who yesterday referred to the is-sue asked by the press and in res-ponse to statements by former Prime Minister Jaume Bartumeu about the solvency of the Andor-ran financial system.

According to Minister Jover, the Principality’s banks «have suf-ficient strength to face the cur-rent crisis», despite the fact that the changes that the financial system has been facing for years, in full transformation as a result of the Monetary Agreement, place it in a situation of «tension». “En-tities are proactively complying to be competitive in the new fra-mework, and this is a positive change,” Jover said.

For this reason, the Minister of Finance described as «irresponsi-ble» the statements made by the former head of government Jau-me Bartumeu last Tuesday in rela-tion to the health of the Andorran banking system, assuring that its solvency was «doubtful». In fact, Jover considered that Bartumeu, «having had the place he had», could not afford to make «certain statements with this lightness.» Thus, the Minister of Finance cho-se to «downplay some criticisms that are very open to anyone who moves» and are also «lack of foun-dation.»

MERGERS FOR COMPETITIVENESS / In any case, for Minister Jover, the possibility of bank mergers in the Principality would be natural, as it is an action that occurs «in many sectors, and in the financial even more» because « due to the incre-ase in regulation, fixed costs are becoming higher ”and for this re-ason, more and more entities are

FOTO:SFGA/JAVILADOT

Jover would see as «logical» a merger of banks in AndorraThe minister considers Jaume Bartumeu’s statements on the solvency of the banks to be «irresponsible»

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COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

The session of the Council of Mi-nisters approved, at the request of the Minister of Education, Ester Vi-larrubla, the return of the propor-tional part of the amount of scho-ol transport and free bus to users who did not use it due to the stop-ped following the Covid-19 pande-mic.

Specifically, the Government will make an automatic return, ie it will not require a claim by the in-terested parties, corresponding to three and a half months out of ten school transport worth 106,513.78 euros and a month and a half of the total of twelve of free bus with an amount of 58,197.10 euros. Tho-se affected were more than 4,000 users, between the two systems.

In this way, the Ministry will ful-fil the commitments made by Mi-nister Vilarrubla to the General Co-uncil. H

The Council of Ministers held yester-day approved, at the request of the Minister of Agriculture, Silvia Cal-vó, the award of various grants for the promotion of agricultural and li-vestock practices to various holders in Andorra.

On the one hand, the Govern-ment awarded 68,745 euros to Ra-maders d’Andorra to support the production of quality meat in the co-untry, where the entity is the only company authorized to use the of-ficial seal. On the other hand, 4,000 euros were also awarded to two wi-neries in the country, Borda Sabaté winery and Casa Auvinyà winery, for the promotion of controlled qua-lity wine production. Finally, a grant of 24,709.93 euros was approved for two farms in Ordino, one in Encamp and one in Sant Julià for the mainte-nance of the natural environment and plant biodiversity. H

Education returns 100,000 euros for school transport

Agriculture awards grants worth 100,000 euros

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They include neonatal screening in public funding

Updated the accounting framework of the financial system

Health will regulate the prescription and dispensing of ‘zolpidem’

The Council of Ministers, with the approval of the CASS Board of Directors, approved yester-day the inclusion of neonatal screening for con-genital metabolic and endocrinopathy diseases in public funding, which will allow the diagno-sis of up to 10 minority diseases. These tests, as stipulated by the Social Security Act, are paid in full, as well as all those derived from the sta-te of health of the baby while he is hospitalized. The screening test is done during the first days of life.

The Council of Ministers approved yesterday, follo-wing an opinion of the Technical Committee on In-ternational Financial Reporting Standards, and at the request of the Minister of Finance, Eric Jover, the modification of the accounting framework applica-ble to the entities of the Andorran financial system and the bodies of collective investment under An-dorran law in order to update them in accordance with the international standards already applicable in the European Union. Approved amendments are around international IFRS and IAS standards.

At the proposal of the Minister of Health, Joan Mar-tínez Benazet, the Council of Ministers approved yesterday to regulate the conditions of prescripti-on and dispensing of medicines containing zolpi-dem. It is a hypnotic drug described as psychotro-pic, effective and safe, but the medical literature has recently detected cases of abuse, dependence and falsification of prescriptions internationally. Therefore, it has been decreed that the prescripti-ons must be made in an individualized prescripti-on valid for one month and adjustable for longer.

«The Executive must accompany the entities in a merger process to help them in their approval»

Eric JoverMINISTER OF FINANCE

opting for mergers in order to“ gain margin and continue to ge-nerate a significant volume of pro-fits ”. That is why, according to Jo-ver, more and more mergers are being seen on an international scale «to increase business capa-city» and Andorra «is not exempt», so it would be normal for an entity to have this element on the table and be thinking about it in this re-

gard.In this line, for the Minister,

the position that the Executive must take is to accompany the fi-nancial institutions in this pro-cess, if the time comes to do so, in order to help them in its «homolo-gation and alignment with Euro-pean policies». «Our job is to sup-port them so that they are as effici-ent as possible,» said Jover. H

Minister Jover during press conference.

Jover recalled that mergers have taken place in many countries to generate more profit