The Spanish Association of Civil Guards (AEGC) has denounced that agents from Costa Teguise had to act this Tuesday "without adequate protection" in the face of the arrival of the boat that arrived at Charco del Palo with 19 immigrants, two of whom were evacuated to the Molina Orosa Hospital.
As La Voz already reported, one of the immigrants had 38.5 fever, although he later tested negative for Covid, and another general malaise.
According to AEGC, the five Civil Guard agents, already in quarantine, "have not only prevented immigrants from approaching the population, but have also saved their lives, since one of the eventual guards, of Moroccan descent and knowledgeable of the language, has been able to tell them how to approach the coast without danger of shipwreck."
"We cannot be the ones who become carriers"
AEGC affirms that this same Monday it requested in writing to the Command "that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) be provided to the agents", because they consider that "it is the best way to protect the health of the agents and the citizens" to whom they provide service. "We interact with them daily and we cannot be the ones who, on the return to normality, become carriers of the coronavirus," he adds.
AEGC believes that the experience of recent weeks proves them right, "since in several of the boats that arrived on the Spanish coasts there were immigrants who have tested positive for Covid-19." "The agents have had to face these actions without FFP II masks and without the 'diving suits'. This has once again put at risk the civil guards who are on the front line in the fight against illegal immigration. Civil guards whose mission is to prevent immigrants arriving in boats or canoes from landing unnoticed and, therefore, if there is a positive case, they can transmit the disease," he adds.
AEGC considers that "not delivering these suits, restricted only to personnel with an CBRN course who are not always on duty", and "with the excuse of not having training, is just a way for the Civil Guard to save the expense of adequately protecting the agents."
Demands material and training for agents
For this reason, it considers that "each official vehicle that provides citizen security prevention service in areas of special risk must have these personal protection equipment to be able to deal with possible suspected cases, at least while the risk to health is maintained."
"Occupational Risk Prevention of the Civil Guard should provide the necessary material and training on the use of the suits to the agents who monitor the arrival of boats and replace the surgical masks, which do not protect us, with FFP II masks that are currently restricted," he points out.
"We do not want civil guards to be the new kamikazes now that we are entering the new normality, as the health workers had to be during the state of alarm", they add from AEGC, from where they point out that "it is very difficult, if not impossible, to maintain any safety distance when carrying out a police intervention with immigrants, because not everyone collaborates."
