Laurence Dollimore
THE wearing of masks will be obligatory in the Balearic Islands from Monday, it has been announced.
Any tourist or local must don the personal protective gear in all public spaces, apart from beaches and swimming pools. Breaking the law may result in a conviction appearing on a police check.
Those caught not wearing a mask will face fines of €100, regardless of whether or not they are maintaining social distancing i.e. they are two or more metres away from other people.
Masks will not be necessary to wear during sports.
The legislation on the new ruling still has to be published, but government sources say there is widespread agreement and that the new measure will be regulated this weekend and come into force on Monday.
According to Efe, the new decree will be published by Sunday in the Official State Bulletin of the Balearic Islands.
Regional president Francina Armengol said the priority of the government is the protection of residents and tourists, saying the wearing of masks is a must as ‘the virus continues to coexist in our society.’
Aremngol stressed that the COVID-19 situation is ‘very controlled’ on the islands, but that because of their great work in self-isolating, very few people have antibodies to fight the virus, the latest studies suggest.
Meanwhile Patricia Gomez, minister of health for the islands, told Cadena Ser that the government there is also considering reducing the number of people who can meet.
These will stand at a maximum of 70 people in open spaces and 30 people in closed spaces, while up to 250 people will be allowed to gather for an outdoor wedding as long as it is an official celebration.
Gomez said the decision to potentially reduce gathering numbers comes after several private parties were busted after breaking several social distancing guidelines.
There have been a string of illegal house parties in Mallorca and Ibiza in recent weeks, one which was on a field and filled with British expat party reps and which charged people at the door and even had VIP areas.
There are currently 10 fresh active outbreaks of COVID-19 on the Balearic Islands.
Just one is in Ibiza while the rest are in Mallorca, with three new ones in the past week alone.
One new outbreak was also announced in Menorca on Thursday.
The total number of positive people across the islands stands at 139, with 57 of them coming from the fresh outbreaks.
“They are very limited outbreaks affecting very few people, and most of them have mild symptoms,” said regional health adviser Javier Arranz.
