Francina Armengol speaking on Wednesday evening.

Francina Armengol speaking on Wednesday evening.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma29/04/2020 20:09
TW
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President Armengol said on Wednesday evening that the Balearic government will be asking the national health ministry to allow Minorca to enter Phase 1 of the relaxation of confinement regulations on 4 May, the same as Formentera. A similar request may apply to Ibiza as well. This will depend on the Council of Ibiza's assessment. Majorca, she noted, will be prepared for Phase 1 as from 11 May.

If the ministry were to authorise this, it would mean that on these islands there will be social contact between small groups of people "but not with the most vulnerable", such as the elderly and people with health conditions. Small shops would be able to open, as would restaurant/bar terraces to a third of capacity, as well as open-air markets.

It would also mean that hotels could open, but only the accommodation and not the common areas. Libraries and museums would be able to open as would high-performance sports centres. People who live together would be able to go out in the same vehicle. Movement between urban centres (municipality to municipality) would begin to recover.

If the Spanish government accepts this, Armengol stated that the regional government will intensify health control measures at ports and airports for Phase 1 of the de-escalation.

The president also pressed the need for the health ministry to schedule times of the day when children and the elderly can go out in order to avoid crowds and possible infection as much as possible.

The justification for requesting an earlier start of Phase 1 in Minorca and Ibiza is the very much lower number of coronavirus cases on these islands compared with Majorca.