Speech at visit to Epidemiological Surveillance Unit at Capitán Guiloche barracks

PEDRO SÁNCHEZ, PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN

Minister, government delegate, and also all the members of the unit.

I wanted to pass on something I feel was ever present in the visit and in the exchange of words, opinions and experiences we had, which is our gratitude for the work you are doing.

I said this earlier to the lieutenant, this tracing work is very important for halting the spread of contagion, for halting transmissions and, above all, for instilling calm in our people. This calm means confidence, establishing ties of confidence. This calm also means having empathy, which is what you have been conveying in our talks with those people who are unfortunately suffering from COVID-19. Hence, the first thing I wanted to do is pass on all the thanks of the Government of Spain to each and every one of you.

And secondly, something we also mentioned and is closely related to the military, which is pride, the pride of the Government of Spain, and I am sure of the whole of Spanish society in our armed forces. Pride because, firstly through Operation Balmis and now through Operation Baluarte, I feel that our people see the armed forces as the best of Spanish society. And the best of Spanish society means, first of all, solidarity. You have shown - the Army, the armed forces - extraordinary solidarity with our people and, above all, with those people who have been suffering from the outset from the effects of COVID-19. I would like to remember the work you are doing, I say this in present continuous, not in the past, because you continue to do this at care homes for the elderly, to just quote one example, together with your solidarity and your professionalism. Contact tracing is undoubtedly a very clear example of this professionalism, and of the preliminary training you have had to undergo, precisely to carry out your track and trace work with all due guarantees and efficiency.

Thirdly, your dedication, the lieutenant mentioned this earlier, whereby you spend all seven days of the week working, from Monday to Sunday, something I feel is an example of this dedication.

And lastly, respect. Let me explain myself; respect for the people you serve, and also for the institutions that represent these people. Because, at the end of the day, this is a decentralised State, this is a State in which each and every regional government has jurisdiction over health matters, and what the Army does is complement this work. And it does so with the maximum institutional respect for the powers protected under Title VII of our Constitution, which is the State of the Autonomies.

I want to tell you that I am convinced that the scent for victory you show, through social discipline and also with a spirit of resistance, in the same way as in the first wave of COVID-19, will end up in victory over this second wave of COVID-19.

Of course, from the perspective of the Government of Spain, what we are doing is deploying a national strategy based on three pillars.

The first is the indicators, because we must know the precise spread of COVID-19 under common indicators for the whole of the country.

Secondly, the actions we must undertake to flatten the curve, and thus control the pandemic. These actions from the point of view of the Government of Spain are related to the declaration of the state of emergency, which has been extended by the Lower House of Parliament for six months. These actions are also passed on to the powers held by the regional governments.

And finally, the evaluation of the measures we are setting in motion - whether they are effective or not. And in order for these measures to be effective, what we must do is comply with them. The public authorities must comply with them, as must all of our citizens.

Hence, this national strategy to overcome this second wave has three pillars: indicators, actions and the evaluation of the efficacy of these measures.

And I also want to say something to each and every one of you and, I am sure this equally applies to all the people of Spain, which is that this national strategy, these indicators, these actions and this evaluation would be impossible to implement without the key and primordial contribution from the armed forces.

Hence, by making this visit, I want to pass on to you, as I said at the beginning, two things, two messages. One, our gratitude, and two, our pride in having the armed forces we have. You have been fundamental; you are helping your society, the society you serve, with dedication, with professionalism and with your hearts, which is what, in the end, we see in each and every one of you.

My heartfelt thanks.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)

Non official translation