For the traditional All Saints visits to the main Son Valenti cemetery in Palma, appointments will need to be made. Mayor José Hila said on Tuesday that these appointments can be made via the cemetery's website or by phone (the number will be released on October 19). He asked the public to avoid visiting the cemetery over the October 30 to November 1 period or to bring forward or delay visits. It is necessary "to prioritise health above all else".
There will be limited capacity, staggered times, increased surveillance, a visitor register and cleaning. The cemetery manager, Jordi Vila, explained that the site will be divided into three areas and each one will have specific invitations. Each completed form will give access to a group of a maximum of six people.
Visits will be from 08.00 to 14.00 and from 15.00 to 21.00. At the most, there will be 6,000 people in the various parts of the cemetery at a given time. At entrances there will be controllers and scanning systems for the appointment invitations. When the cemetery closes at 14.00, disinfection will be carried out.
The measures will not apply to the Establiments and Sant Jordi cemeteries, as these do not attract the same numbers of people.
Councillor Alberto Jarabo, who is president of the municipal mortuary company, explained that some 25,000 people usually visit the cemetery over All Saints. "The easiest thing would have been to close, but relatives have been letting us know that they wish to visit."