Vacation on the brink: Corona explosion on Mallorca and Ibiza: Where the situation in Spain is developing dramatically
The corona numbers are increasing dramatically across the country in Spain. This also applies to Mallorca and the Canaries. We show how the situation in Spain is developing and whether your vacation there is in danger.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, Spain has been a risk area since July 11, including the Balearic and Canary Islands. A bitter blow for many vacationers who want to spend their vacation there this summer. The Federal Foreign Office has not yet issued a travel warning, but the number of infections has been rising rapidly for weeks.
That’s how it lies 7-day incidence for Spain as a whole is currently 327 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (last update: 07/19). Along with Cyprus, Portugal, Malta and Greece, Spain is one of the countries with the worst Corona values in southern Europe.
Barcelona as the biggest hotspot
In Spain, the worst affected is Catalonia with the capital Barcelona, which has now developed into the country’s absolute Corona hotspot. There, the delta variant ensures an exponential increase in infections. The 7-day incidence there is currently 616 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The age group of 20 to 29-year-olds, who have either not yet been vaccinated or only partially vaccinated, is particularly affected.
In order to get the corona situation under control, the Spanish judiciary gave the green light on Friday for a curfew in several large cities in Catalonia. According to the Federal Foreign Office, these apply until July 23 in Barcelona, Girona and Tarragona and in some tourist locations between one and six in the morning. Bars and nightclubs close at 0.30 a.m.
High numbers also in tourist regions in Valencia and Andalusia
The region around Valencia on the Mediterranean coast also has high case numbers: There the 7-day incidence is 243 per 100,000 inhabitants. Here, too, there are curfews between one and six in the morning until July 25, as well as restrictions in the interior of pubs.
Andalusia in the south of the country is also particularly badly affected: the 7-day incidence there has recently increased significantly and, according to the Ministry of Health, is now just under 313.
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High incidence in Mallorca – restrictions possible soon
The Balearic Islands are another problem children in Spain. According to the island government, the 7-day incidence for the Balearic Islands is 370 per 100,000 inhabitants. According to the island’s government, it is 348 on Mallorca, the Germans’ favorite island. It is even higher on the neighboring island of Ibiza at 494. On Menorca it is 403. Only on Formentera is the incidence significantly lower, but still in the worrying range: Here it is 218 (status: 20.7.)
- Current information on the infection process can be found at www.caib.es
The Delta variant, which according to reports in the “Mallorca-Zeitung” was found in 85 percent of all samples, is said to be responsible for this sharp increase. Mainly young people are currently infected with Sars-CoV-2, although 51 percent of the population over the age of 16 is already fully vaccinated. 65.7 percent have already received a first vaccination. Even if most of the infected people belong to the young age group and usually only show mild symptoms, the health system is slowly coming under pressure again. In the meantime, ten percent of the beds in intensive care units are again occupied by corona patients, according to the report.
In view of these rising numbers, stricter restrictions could soon apply again on Mallorca. In this way, parties and drinking bouts in the open air should be prevented in the future. Beaches and parks are to be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. According to “Mallorca Zeitung”, the judiciary still has to approve the plans.
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Heavy fines for party tourists
When this happens, participants in such parties are fined up to 1000 euros. If a party guest violates a quarantine by participating, the fine should even increase to 2,000 euros. If the participant tested positive for Corona, even 5000 euros are due. The organizers of illegal parties face fines of up to 100,000 euros.
Restaurants will also have to close a little earlier in the future, at 1 a.m. instead of 2 a.m. A maximum of four people are allowed to sit at a table inside restaurants and eight outside. According to the “Mallorca-Zeitung”, only people who live in the same household are allowed to meet between 1 am and 6 am. Hotel or finca guests who have checked in together should be considered one household.
The requirement to wear masks outdoors, which was abolished just under a month ago, is not yet to be reintroduced. However, the government strongly recommends wearing mouth and nose protection voluntarily. However, if a minimum distance of 1.5 meters from strangers cannot be maintained, the mask is again mandatory outdoors. It applies anyway in all indoor public spaces as well as in buses and trains.
The whole of Spain becomes a corona risk area – Mallorca and Canary Islands are also affected
Incidence in the Canary Islands is also increasing
The Canary Islands are not spared from Corona either. According to the Ministry of Health, the 7-day incidence in the entire Canary Islands is 200 (as of July 20). However, it looks different on the individual islands. It is particularly high in Tenerife with 257, followed by Gran Canaria with 177. It is slightly lower in Fuerteventura with 157, on Lanzarote it is still below the 100 mark at 76.
In view of these high corona numbers across the country, the mood in the tourism industry is not exactly optimistic. The state TV broadcaster RTVE, citing the Vice President of the Spanish tourism association Exceltur, José Luis Zoreda, reported that there was a “sudden drop” in bookings by foreign holidaymakers. “If the Corona numbers continue to worsen, we estimate that tourism will generate sales of 37.97 billion euros in this summer quarter, more than the 24.30 billion in the same period last year, but much less than the 58, 37 billion in 2019, “the station quoted the tourism manager as saying.
No quarantine for those returning to Spain with proof of vaccination or recovery or a negative test
Because Spain is a risk area, vacationers have to be quarantined after returning. This does not apply to travelers who have a recovery or vaccination certificate or a negative test result that they submit via the entry portal of the Federal Republic of Germany before their return journey. However, should Spain be declared a high incidence area, travelers without proof of vaccination or recovery can only get out of quarantine after five days at the earliest. Should Spain be declared a virus variant area, all returnees, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative, must be in quarantine for two weeks.
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cs / with dpa