Dr Fernando Simón urges limited mobility

Dr Simón spoke out after the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid or TSJM denied the ratification of the Health Minister, Salvador Illa’s order to shut down Madrid and other Municipalities because the cohesion law "does not contain legal authorisation for the establishment of measures limiting fundamental rights."

Dr Simón said he didn’t want to assess the legal aspects of the ruling and stressed that it’s essential that the population knows how the virus is transmitted and what the main prevention measures are.

"The evolution of the virus indicates that things may be stabilising, but we must continue with preventative measures to achieve incidence figures that allow us to at least have an adequate margin," he said, pointing out that "the recommended incidence is to be below 100, 50 or 20 cases per 100,000 inhabitants."

For that reason, he said it’s extremely important for residents of Madrid to restrict their mobility because of the risks of exposure.

“If mobility is not reduced there could be an increase in cases, whereas if mobility is limited the lockdown would last for 15 days or a month instead of four months,” he explained.

He also said it's still possible to work with the TSJM before applying a total lockdown.

"There are several options and one is to declare a State of Emergency,” he said, “but I understand that there are others and the ones that are considered more opportune will be used.”