During Sunday's videoconference of regional presidents, President Armengol expressed her full support for the Spanish government's intention to extend the state of alarm for a further two weeks.
She was also grateful for the idea being put forward by the government regarding de-escalation of confinement varying according to region. "We are working on our own de-confinement plan in order to guarantee people's health." For the Balearics, she said, there would need to be health monitoring of the public and closure of ports and airports for "the maximum time possible".
Armengol asked Prime Minister Sánchez if there will be a "national strategy" for ports and airports once the state of alarm is lifted. Among safety and technological measures, she referred to the so-called immunity passport for travellers and argued that it should be standardised across the European Union. Tools such as this passport are ones that the Balearic government is looking at, taking account of the need to reactivate tourism as quickly as possible.
The president stressed the regional government's determination to revive the economy as soon as possible. Referring to the remarks made by the national employment minister, Yolanda Díaz, Armengol said that she didn't share the view - "far from it" - that tourism will not start up again until the end of the year.
The resumption of tourism, she continued, "must have clear strategies and planning as well as the assurance of certainty in guaranteeing the health and safety of the population and of tourists who can come". The Balearic government is aware that tourism will depend on "many circumstances". The pandemic is not the same in all countries, nor is the economic impact in these countries and Balearic dependency on them for tourism.
Faced with the possibility that tourism, transport, retailing and restaurants "may take longer to clearly reactivate", the regional government is seeking state measures to protect jobs - some 200,000.