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The Catalan government has once again complained about the "slowness" of the Spanish executive to respond to the coronavirus crisis. Presidency   munister Meritxell Budó warned this Thursday that "if there are no drastic measures such as total lockdown, the healthcare system will be under maximum stress this weekend and next week it could collapse."

In a press conference after the daily meeting of the Procicat civil protection committee, she reiterated that the Catalan government did not understand the slow response of the Spanish executive and stressed that "only a total lockdown could prevent the exponential growth of infections".

"We need to be aware that we are approaching a very complicated situation," she said. The government says it has not yet responded to a letter sent by president Quim Torra to the Spanish chief executive, Pedro Sánchez, asking for a complete lockdown of Catalonia.

The minister said that Catalan public health facilities are already transferring cases to private health, and president Torra is in contact with the directors of the different private health centres.

The health portfolio holder in Barcelona, Alba Vergés, explained that there was no differentiation being made between private and public health, and that the flow between the two systems has been going on for days and with increasing intensity. This involves patient referral, depending on severity and proximity, and includes the entire system.

With regard to police requisitioning of emergency medical supplies denounced yesterday in Igualada, Vergés said that "a lot of reports of this from companies and health centres" was reaching the Catalan government. "We won't accept that orders that were put in place by our health centres can be stopped. If we receive from centralized purchases then that's good, but you can't stop orders," she said.

Freeze taxes

As well, Budó called on the Spanish tax agency to "indefinitely suspend deadlines" on tax and tributes payments to make it easier for companies to have more liquidity. She recalled that the Catalan government has agreed to moratoriums on some taxes.

These include, as was announced today, a 50% reduction in the domestic water rate for two months, as well in the water rate paid by industry. The minister noted that in other countries outside Spain there has already been an indefinite suspension of taxes.