Enjoying Mallorca during Coronavirus – The New Rules
Sunday, September 6th, 2020
On 27th July the UK issued a travel warning due to an increase of coronavirus cases in Spain, advising against all but essential travel to the whole of the country, including the Balearic Islands. A holiday in Mallorca is nevertheless possible for anyone not put off by a 14-day quarantine when they return to the UK.
There has been some debate about whether or not it was justified to include Mallorca in the travel warning, as the number of cases has remained much lower than in some other regions of Spain. What is the current situation? How many cases are there in Mallorca, which areas are most affected and what are the current coronavirus rules on the island?
The island has experienced a slight increase in coronavirus cases over the last few weeks, with the incidence rising to around 70 cases per 100.000. However, the outbreaks are concentrated in only a few geographical areas. Mostly affected are some neighbourhoods in Palma. A smaller outbreak also occurred in Inca, Mallorca’s third-largest town, which is located roughly half-way between Palma and Pollenca. The tourist regions, on the other hand, have remained largely unaffected.
For those of you who have decided to spend a few relaxing days on the island during the current situation, here is a brief summary of the current coronavirus-rules in Mallorca.
On 13th July the wearing of a face mask in public was made compulsory. That means that a face mask must be worn whenever you leave your hotel room or holiday apartment, regardless of whether you are out in the open or in a public building. Anyone who doesn’t adhere to this rule will face a fine of €100.
With an increase in the number of coronavirus cases, there have been a few recent changes s to this rule. While it used to be ok to remove the mask for a walk along the promenade or when smoking, these exceptions no longer apply and a general ban on smoking in public has since been introduced for the whole of Spain.
However, in the following situations, you are still exempt from the rule:
- While on the beach or at the pool
- When outside villages, towns or residential areas
- In restaurants, bars and cafés, once your food or drink has been served
- During sports or watersports
The local government has also introduced some other measures designed to reduce the number of infections on the island. While bars and restaurants had been allowed to operate at 75% of their capacity until recently, this has now been reduced to 50%. Nightclubs have to remain closed for the time being, party boats can no longer operate and pool parties are currently not allowed.
Beaches and parks are closed to the public between the hours of 9 pm and 7 am. This measure has been put in place mainly to prevent beach parties and night-time gatherings, which are known to pose a high risk of infection.
For meetings of any kind, group sizes are currently limited to a maximum number of 10 people, be it in restaurants, bars, on the beach or elsewhere.
Despite these stricter measures having been introduced only recently, it appears that they have already had a positive impact: over the last few days, the incidence of cases on the island has levelled off between 50 and 60 per 100.000, as compared to 70 roughly one week ago.
