Health Minister Salvador Illa told the President of the Government, Francina Armengol during the Conference of Autonomous Presidents in San Millán la Cogolla that his department is looking at ways to implement health tests on domestic passengers arriving in the Balearic Islands.
International travellers are already required to complete Health questionnaires and undergo temperature tests, now the Government intends to extend these controls to domestic travellers.
"Salvador Illa had told me that he is studying this proposal and I hope for a speedy resolution to make it possible," said President Armengol.
She also said that the good epidemiological situation in the Balearics is largely due to mobility control when the pandemic broke out, particularly the closure of ports and airports and that the results allowed the economy to reactivate earlier.
Safe Corridor
President Armengol argued that there is an urgent need for a safe corridor with the UK so that British tourists can visit the Archipelago without having to go through quarantine when they go home.
“The Balearic Islands have the know how to do this with security and rigor,” insists Armengol, who says she appreciates the work being done by the Foreign Ministry so that the British Government can "pull back" the quarantine, which she described as "surprising and has no logic or health motivation.”
She acknowledged that the economic situation in the Balearic Islands is "the worst in Spain,” emphasised its dependence on tourism and once again demanded that the ERTE be relaxed, that the temporary employment regulation files linked to the Tourism Sector be extended until the end of the year and workers be given guaranteed protection until March 31, 2021.
President Armengol also urged the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez to make the spending rules and deficit targets of Autonomous Communities more flexible next year.
Specific plan
President Armegol said she was grateful for the 400 million euros non-reimbursable fund provided by the Government to help Autonomous Communities deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic, but pointed out that the Balearic Islands "need a specific plan" to reactivate the economy. She also mentioned the broad consensus that' has been reached within the Autonomous Community, with Unions, Economists, Opposition Parties and other Institutions as part of the Reactivation Pact.
She welcomed the agreement reached on European Union funds and said the Balearic Islands have "very advanced" projects that comply with the guidelines set by the EU, in terms of prioritising diversification, the "blue economy" and "green economy", etc, in the short term, saying, ”we hope to get the necessary investments.”
Armengol described the Conference of Autonomous Presidents in San Millán la Cogolla as a very positive experience.
"It is a framework of collaboration between the Autonomous Communities and the State, it was very positive and I have always said that Spain has to move towards a Federal State,” she said.
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This seriously needs to be speeded up. Where’s the sense of urgency?
does Majorca not realise how much it has cost them to wait this long with checking their inland passangers?!
Nigel, they started with this, in the first week or two weeks after commercial flights were allowed again. Then it changed into checks for international arrivals only and nationals just walked through in a different area of the airport (have taken several flights since "day 1", so know how it works). It is all a bit of a joke anyway, except maybe the temperature check. But if you are asymptomatic, which most people are nowadays and you say 4x NO on the health form, you just walk through. All political BS again, as usual.
Better late, than never.