In parliament on Tuesday, Nuria Riera of the Partido Popular asked the government if it will pay for students returning from the mainland for Christmas to have PCR tests. These tests would be for the students' protection and that of their families.
Pilar Costa, minister for the presidency, explained that the government is in talks with Madrid regarding PCR requirements for people arriving in the Balearics, whether they are residents or not. She said that the regional government will be "taking into account" university students and residents of the Balearics who will be travelling from the mainland at Christmas, stressing that anyone who resides in the Balearics can return at any time.
Maria Salomé Cabrera, also of the PP, pointed to "evasions" by the government and to the fact that the government in the Canaries has announced that it will pay for PCR tests for all residents of the Canaries who return at Christmas.
Tourism minister Iago Negueruela insisted that the government is working with Madrid on the PCR requirement for national travellers and that this is "on the right track". The intention, he said, is to request mandatory tests "as soon as possible". "There is more capacity for doing this now and we are working with the (central) government on implementing it." The minister asked the PP "not to believe scaremongering".