It has been more than a year since a terrible pandemic disrupted our lives. Since then, and united in grief, we have suffered the irreparable loss of many of our loved ones. We have suffered from the disease and we have feared for our own. Because of a virus that we continue to fight, we have been deprived of our freedoms, of places where we gather and which enrich our daily lives.
We can now say with confidence that we will soon have overcome the threat; say that we have been up to the demands of the greatest challenge of our time. Day by day, we are moving towards normality, and this is thanks to the efforts of citizens on our islands and in the United Kingdom. We are doing so with caution, intending that we do not have to make a backward step and that health prevention and rigour enable us to recover daily life.
As part of a health care strategy that we applaud and share in these islands, the UK government has taken another step towards normality by including our islands among destinations that are green. This is thanks to our good health figures and efforts made in controlling and preventing the disease. This step will bring our peoples closer together again. We will once more be able to meet, starting next week. Decades of shared memories of Mediterranean holidays in the company of the many Britons who love Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera will be revived.
Many of you visit us every year. Many of you came for the first time with your parents. Today, you come with your children. Many of you met here. Many of you are in fact an active and endearing part of our society as residents of these Balearic Islands that we all love. To all of you, I want to welcome you and to convey the wishes of the government as well as Balearic society as a whole that you will once again enjoy how much our welcoming islands have to offer - unequalled landscape; a coastline of turquoise waters; biodiversity and nature which make us unique; our gastronomy and culture; our historical heritage; our passion for the sea; and a way of life that is based on cordiality.
All of this can be enjoyed with us again. But I also want to send an important message - the virus is still among us, and so it is essential that we all remain firm in our individual commitment to complying with prevention measures and to taking care of each other. Each step towards normality demands greater responsibility from everyone. From this weekend, masks will no longer be mandatory outdoors, but we must all take them with us and wear them whenever social distance cannot be guaranteed. It is also necessary that we take extreme precaution when we leave our usual group of cohabitation and that we are especially cautious indoors, where the virus multiplies its transmission capacity. It is essential that we enjoy this cautious return to normality by avoiding excesses and crowds that could put everything we have achieved at risk.
For some time now, we have worked together on our islands to banish a tourism offer that is linked to excesses and to instead promote a tourism model that is based on quality and tranquillity, on coexistence and sensible enjoyment of what we have to offer. This model now makes more sense than ever, as health precautions and respect for protection measures guarantee the safety of everyone and the end of the pandemic. Let's continue to be examples of civility.
Friends, we will be meeting again soon. I know that those of you who visit us and those welcoming you to our islands will appreciate how to continue to give lessons in civility and in the collaboration to end this pandemic, so that we can enjoy our lives to the full again.
As you know, this is also your home: as such, enjoy it and take care of it.
Welcome to Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera.
Francina Armengol, President Balearic Government
