The Balearic High Court has ruled unanimously in the government’s favour in the case of Spanish students who were made to isolate at the Covid hotel as they were considered to have been close contacts of positive cases.
The high court has established that the course of action was justified and correct. There was no other alternative, the high court has determined; its conclusion is also correct. Let it not be forgotten that many of the students who were allowed to leave subsequently tested positive and helped fuel the rise in cases in various regions.
I have taken issue with certain aspects of the government’s Covid management, but not this one. The students affair was played out against an extraordinary background of Covid deniers seeking to influence matters, of the public health director being denounced by a parent, and of unreasonable criticism of the government.
It was blamed for having permitted the end-of-year trips. I have yet to hear an explanation as to how the government was expected to have prevented them. It could not. The fateful concert at the bullring was more an issue for Palma town hall than the government.
The inability to prevent has been given a broader and sharper focus as a consequence of what happened. Iago Negueruela has said that he never wants to see student breaks again. “They do nothing for the local economy or society and are something we will be looking at in the future.” The future has arrived, minister.