Ábalos recalled that "today we have returned to the levels of confinement of the first two weeks of alarm. A confinement that is among the strictest in the countries around us, which has an exemplary level of commitment on the part of our citizens and that is what has allowed us to decrease the curve slope ".
Among the measures implemented today, it is worth noting the increase in the frequencies in Cercanías at peak hours or the modification of the schedules on the routes to various locations to adapt them to the needs of health personnel.
In addition, preventive measures have been adopted, such as reserving trains and train drivers at strategic points on the network, mobilization and awareness-raising measures for staff, and strengthening surveillance in trains and stations.
We have also reinforced surveillance in trains and stations, and we are repeating the messages over the public address reminding the health recommendations.
And all this, according to Ábalos, "in an improved scenario because we are increasingly prepared, we have more means, more analysis tools, we know the possible weak points of our system and how to tackle them, and our society as a whole has more and more more internalized the patterns of protection and social distancing ".
In this sense, the minister has emphasized the importance of the use of the private vehicle in this exceptional situation. The data indicates that citizens are complying with all the recommendations, and specifically this one, since there is a shift from the use of public transport to the private vehicle.
In reference to the management of the distribution of masks among the users of the main transport nodes started this morning, Ábalos has valued the management of the Government, through Civil Protection and the State Security Forces and Bodies.
An initiative that adds, according to the minister, to the one also developed by Mitma and "where we have managed the centralized purchase of millions of masks. During the past week we continued with the distribution of the second shipment, destined for 163,000 companies and freelancers in the sector, having already delivered around half a million masks to some 47,000 carriers throughout Spain. "
Rental aid
The head of the Department has announced that tomorrow the Council of Ministers is considering a Mitma proposal to raise the spending ceiling and move forward with housing plans and reach 450,000 beneficiaries. This agreement allows us to raise the level of committed spending and annuities to meet this commitment.
The purpose of this measure is the development of microcredits, through the establishment of a line of guarantees with full coverage of the State through an agreement with the ICO, with which to financially cover the usual housing rental expenses of households in situation of economic and social vulnerability as a consequence of the pandemic.
In relation to the Ministerial Order approved last Saturday that modifies the State Housing Plan and that develops aid to victims of gender violence, evicted people and homeless people, Ábalos recalled that this shows "the objective of protecting to the most vulnerable. "
With it, the Autonomous Communities and city councils are allowed to allocate these grants to rent a flat where these groups can live in highly vulnerable conditions that, due to this crisis, do not have a roof under which to take refuge.
Ábalos has clarified that "aware of the controversy that arose on social networks and artificially sustained" this Ministerial Order does not allow the expropriation of empty homes or second homes and, of course, "does not represent an attack on private property".
Appeal for political unity
Finally, the minister has once again called for political unity, to forge "an agreement that involves promoting reindustrialization, an employment pact that contains the strengthening of health, education, issues so evident in this crisis, that some of them should have reinforced them more. "