Isha Sesay
THE Government of the Balearic Islands has announced that the Level 4 coronavirus restrictions in Mallorca will likely be extended until January 11.
This level is deemed the most serious in the COVID-19 tier system and includes the harshest restrictions.
These include a 10pm curfew and a ban on the use of the interior areas of bars and restaurants which also must close by 6pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
President Francina Armengol had said previously that the epidemiological situation would be assessed on December 28 and that the island could return to Level 3.
However, Armengol today revealed her plans to extend the Level 4 restrictions until at least the second week of January.
She said: “Only a drastic drop in cases would make me rethink this plan, but this is not likely.”
Balearic Health Minister Patricia Gomez has also asked residents to avoid travelling to mainland Spain over the festive period.
She said: “We recommend that you do not travel and ask for maximum responsibility in the face of an increase in coronavirus cases.”
She continued that ‘almost all of Spain has perimeter closures, except for the Canary Islands, so we ask for citizens to only travel for a justified cause’.
Gomez explained that the ‘situation in Mallorca was very worrying’ and ‘has worsened in just three days’.
This is clearly shown in an upward trend in infections.
At present, the COVID-19 incident rate stands at 307 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
This is an increase from the 260 cases reported last week and 198 the previous week.
Meanwhile, it has been forecasted that more than half of the island’s bars and restaurants will be forced to close under Level 4.
The stark prediction was made by the Confederation of Business Associations (CAEB) after the Balearic government announced that the island would be upgraded to the most serious level of the tier system.
According to the business union, the 10pm curfew had already ‘been a death sentence to many bars and restaurants’.
However, with the order to prohibit the use of their interior areas and to close by 6pm, they said that ‘it is now unfeasible for a considerable number to open’.
