Thomas Bareiss, Germany’s secretary of state for tourism.

Thomas Bareiss, Germany’s secretary of state for tourism. | E.C.

Andrew EdePalma11/05/2020 16:08
TW
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... was Thomas Bareiss, Germany’s secretary of state for tourism. Only some days after having said that it was most unlikely that German citizens would be having foreign holidays, he suggested that there was now a good chance that they will. And to the fore will be Majorca, the seventeenth of the German “Länder”, as the island has been referred to, such are ties between Germany and Majorca. The German government, it was being said, views Majorca and the Balearics as safe destinations, so as well as the words of Herr Bareiss, we learned that German tour operator FTI will be putting Majorca holidays on sale this coming Thursday; these holidays being from late June.

Three cheers for...

FOR Banksy. The anonymous street artist has been prominent in getting across messages about staying at home, and he has joined all those paying tribute to NHS staff. Last week, a one-metre square painting appeared in a foyer near the emergency department at Southampton General Hospital. A small boy had discarded his Batman and Spiderman superheroes in favour of a nurse striking a Superman pose. It is a moving piece of work and a fantastic gesture by Banksy. The work will stay where it is until the autumn and then be auctioned to raise money for the NHS.

Una persona que viajó a Italia, segundo caso de coronavirus en Madrid

A big boo...

FOR apparent political pressures placed on senior health professionals. Until Thursday last week, Yolanda Fuentes was the Madrid region’s director-general for public health. Her professional background is very solid. It includes having been medical director of the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid, which is a centre of excellence for research into infectious diseases. She resigned as director-general, having refused to sign the technical document to request that the Madrid region enters Phase 1 of de-escalation. She made clear in her resignation letter that the request “was not based on health criteria”.