The City Council extended the hours, established access controls and capacity, and reinforced cleaning and disinfection, guaranteeing hygienic-sanitary measures
More than 6,000 people visited the cemeteries in a staggered manner during All Saints Day and the days before
More than 6,000 people visited the Benidorm cemeteries "in a staggered manner" during the All Saints festival and in the previous days, as reported by the councilor for the area, Angela Llorca, who has stressed that "from the City Council all the necessary measures to guarantee at all times the fulfillment of the hygienic-sanitary guidelines ”. Thus, Llorca recalled that “for 6 days, from October 28 to November 2, the hours of the cemeteries were extended, which were open uninterruptedly from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., to encourage assistance to the facilities was fluid and staggered ”.
In addition, within the health protocol, an access and capacity control was established. A capacity that was set at 186 people simultaneously in the ‘Mare de Déu del Sofratge’ cemetery and 1,816 in ‘Sant Jaume’ cemetery, and that “were not completed at any time”.
According to the data collected from the access control of both facilities, November 1 was the day with the most attendance at the ‘Sant Jaume’ cemetery, with a total of 1,801 people throughout the day; while the previous days closed with 890 -Thursday, October 29-, 1,015 -day 30- and 1,430 -Saturday 31-.
In the case of the 'Mare de Déu del Sofratge- cemetery, 333 people visited the facilities on Friday, 296 on Saturday and 333 on Sunday 1. "At the time with the highest occupancy, there were 60 people in the facilities, a third of the maximum fixed capacity ”.
Llorca stressed that "the population perfectly understood the exceptional situation caused by the pandemic and distributed their visits to cemeteries over several days, for which we are grateful once again."
Apart from access control and capacity, the City Council deployed a special cleaning device for the continuous disinfection of common use items and public toilets. Likewise, the entrance and exit was carried out at different points to avoid the confluence of people and inside the facilities the circulation routes were marked. Hydroalcoholic gel dispensers were installed at the entrances and exits; and the use of a mask was mandatory, as well as gloves to use common items, such as stairs and fountains.
Mass for the deceased
The church of Sant Jaume and Santa Ana this morning has hosted a mass in memory of the people who died in the last year in the city; a religious act that is traditionally celebrated coinciding with the Major Patron Saint Festivities, which this year have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 health crisis. The religious ceremony was attended by, among others, the mayor, Toni Pérez; the mayor of Fiestas, Jesús Carrobles; as well as representatives of the municipal Corporation. This afternoon, at 7:00 p.m., there will be a second religious service also in memory of the deceased in the same parish.