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Catalonia is facing the start of the de-escalation with 1,600 Mossos d'Esquadra agents isolated in their homes after having been infected with the coronavirus or having had close contact with those infected by the pathogen. This means that almost 10% of the workforce is not operational at a time especially sensitive to the evolution of the pandemic.

There is an added circumstance that 1,200 of these agents have passed the quarantine and are waiting to undergo a PCR test to find out if they can rejoin the service. The Department of the Interior of the Generalitat is not being able to submit agents to diagnostic tests quickly, with the consequent and significant decrease in the number of troops available to control the correct lack of confidence in the population in the second most affected autonomous community. by the Covid-19.

On April 14, the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia required the Department of the Interior of the Generalitat «not to return to service any member of the Corps of the Mossos d'Esquadra who has been or is in preventive isolation due to symptoms of Covid- 19 or in contact with people who have tested positive as long as it is not performed and a negative result is obtained through a PCR test , prioritizing its performance to those agents who have completed the isolation. " The Catalan High Court added that the tests had to be done at the agents' homes to "avoid breaking the confinement imposed by the health authorities."

Until then, the Generalitat subjected its police officers to PCR tests in external medical centers, but, to comply with the judicial resolution, it stopped doing so and promised that on April 15 "a procedure would be activated to carry out the tests at home of the officials in isolation, as quickly as possible, ”according to a note from the Department of the Interior sent to the agents on April 14 and to which EL MUNDO has had access.

"If after the period of 14 days of initial isolation generally foreseen, it has not been possible to carry out the PCR test and the official from the Mossos d'Esquadra goes to a medical discharge, he will not be able to plan work, in compliance with the that establishes the judicial requirement, "admits the Interior Department of the Generalitat in its note sent to the troops.

"Kidnapped" in their homes

And that is the situation that, paradoxically, is occurring two weeks after the judicial resolution and that is preventing the Mossos from having a good part of their staff at a time as committed as the current one.

"We want the tests to be done now. The situation is surreal. On the one hand, there is the nervousness of the agents to know if they are infected and if they can infect their families, and on the other hand, that we want to return to work, ”APME stated. The Professional Association of Mossos d'Esquadra denounces, in addition, that while they wait in their homes for the test "the agents who already have the discharge are being forced to accumulate hours that they will have to recover throughout the year", with the consequent labor prejudice.

The police are "kidnapped in their homes," denounces the Autonomous Police Union (SAP-FEPOL), the majority of the Mossos, which on Tuesday sent a letter to the Ministry of Health of the Generalitat to speed up the conduct of tests to the agents.

The USPAC union also addressed a letter to the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, to demand that he "issue the corresponding instructions" so that the Department of the Interior of the Generalitat may carry out once and for all the tests on the isolated Mossos and the autonomous police force can count on practically all of its troops during the pandemic.

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  • Mossos d'Esquadra
  • Catalonia
  • Salvador Illa
  • Coronavirus
  • Covid 19
  • Descaled

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