It could have been a week in which Mallorca turned the corner and the Balearic government were vindicated with their tough restrictions. Medical officials said this week that the number of cases of the coronavirus in Mallorca was falling, a trend they expect to continue. It is a different story on Ibiza and in Formentera where the number of cases has increased substantially in the last five days...but there does appear to be light at the end of the tunnel at least in Mallorca. It will be interesting to see when the Balearic government will start easing the restrictions on Mallorca.
Balearic President Francina Armengol is under great pressure to slash the lockdowns which have been introduced especially in the bar and restaurant sectors. But obviously if the downward trend continues I suspect that the local authorities will be very cautious when it comes to easing the restrictions. But the good news on Mallorca was rather overshadowed by a statement from the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, who said that he didn´t expect the tourist industry to get into full swing much before September. This was a real slap in the face for the industry who were hoping to get back on track by Easter.
The Balearic government wants to see tourists returning to the islands sooner rather than later and for this reason they even suggested that the vaccine should be given priority to areas where tourism was key. This is obviously controversial especially as the roll-out of the vaccine in Spain hasn´t been as smooth as everyone had initially suggested. If Mallorca is winning the battle against the coronavirus then some credit should go to the Balearic President Armengol. She has taken some tough decisions which has seen her popularity slump even with her own supporters.