Balearics bar and restaurant capacity at 75% from Monday

Bars and restaurants will be at 75% capacity in Phase 3. | Josep Bagur Gomila

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma07/06/2020 19:22

In de-escalation Phase 3, which starts in Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza on Monday, bars and restaurants will be able to operate at 75% capacity. This is greater than the 50% under the national guidance for Phase 3 but, as with the decision not to allow nightlife establishments to open in Phase 3, has been made possible by the flexibility given to regional governments to make their own decisions.

Hotel communal area capacity will be 60%, which is also greater than the 50% national guideline, while shops can operate at 50%, as opposed to 40%. In betting establishments, the Balearic government has opted for a lower capacity of 30% rather than the 50% national level. Time slots for physical activity will no longer apply as from Monday.

The government has still not received any go-ahead for the pilot tourism plan. It has wanted this to start on 15 June, and towards the end of last week it was being suggested that approval from Madrid was about to be given; "in a matter of hours", said one source. It wasn't given, but President Armengol now says that there will be a response tomorrow (Monday).

The Balearics position is that foreign tourism (based on safe corridors with European countries or regions at the same pandemic levels) should in any event start from 22 June and not 1 July. This earlier date would tie in with national tourism. The quarantine of foreign travellers would therefore cease to apply from 22 June and not from 1 July. For the pilot plan, if this is indeed from 15 June, the Balearics request is that the quarantine regulation is waived.