... was Pedro Sánchez. Now no longer making his weekly announcements direct to an expectant nation, he instead did a major TV interview in which he admitted that mistakes had been made, but challenged a view that the state of alarm should have been declared earlier. With the data that had been available in February, would political parties have agreed to the state of alarm? He also noted that the Partido Popular had criticised the lockdown because it would put tourism at risk. This matter dealt with, the prime minister moved on to taxes. There was no surprise at all. Increased income tax for high earners had, for example, been flagged up well in advance.
Three Cheers...
For the new normal of celebrity-watching, although this could equally qualify for a big boo; it depends on your assessment of celebrities. But given that Majorca and the Balearics can’t survive without a regular diet of celebs, the cheers were sounding for former footballers and their spouses. Carles Pujol and his model wife Vanesa Lorenzo were out and about, and the local media finally got wind of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ana Ivanovic, a good week or more after The Mail had highlighted her “tanned physique and floral bikini”. Then there was someone called Angy, who was in Spain’s X Factor and was Instagramming herself in Cala Tuent. Oh well ...
A big boo...
For outbreaks and the concern that can arise by describing them as outbreaks. A month ago, in reference to coronavirus cases involving a family in Palma’s Son Gotleu, the spokesperson for the Balearics committee for the management of coronavirus, Dr. Javier Arranz, explained that there was a difference between an outbreak and contagion. Essentially, the former has “sustained transmission” in different places and will involve higher numbers than the eleven who tested positive positive in Son Gotleu. Therefore, three people in Inca and five in Palma weren’t outbreaks, but they were a reminder that this virus most certainly hasn’t gone away.