There are four municipalities in Majorca as well as areas of Palma which could be subject to selective confinement (lockdown) because of the numbers of positive coronavirus cases. These are Deya, Esporles, Santa Maria and Valldemossa.
Claudio Triay of the Simebal doctors union in the Balearics says that it is important to take into account the incidence per 1,000 inhabitants, as this gives a real indication of the spread of the virus. In this regard, he explains that not all of Palma has the same epidemiological situation. The incidence rate for the city as a whole is 5.64 per 1,000, but only nine of the health zones exceed five, with the highest being Son Gotleu (7.28). The other eight, in descending order of cases, are Escola Graduada, Son Ferriol, Son Rullán, Muntanya, Mar de Ponent, Architect Bennàssar, Emili Darder and Pere Garau.
Confinement, he believes, could be considered for all of these. Where there are five positives or more per 1,000, community transmission of the virus can be said to exist. Triay doesn't think it would be possible to impose a total confinement, as was the case in the spring, but argues that it would be appropriate to have selective confinements in the most affected areas in order to stop the spread of the virus.
He is supported in this view by Joan Carles March, a specialist in preventive medicine and public health, who believes that there should have been selective confinements from the start of the "new normal". In his opinion, the de-escalation process was too quick.
In Deya, the rate is 6.48 per 1,000 inhabitants. Deya doesn't actually have 1,000 inhabitants - the population is only 617 - and it had been one of the island's municipalities to have registered no cases of coronavirus at all. Data released on Tuesday showed that this was no longer the situation.
The rate in Santa Maria is 7.05; in Esporles it is 5.73; and in Valldemossa it is 5.59.