The coronavirus measures in Mallorca are currently at Level 4 and will be reviewed by the Government Council on Monday, but it’s already very clear that the measures are about to be toughened up.
The Ministry of Health is insisting on a total lockdown of Palma and has the back of the City Council.
A number of proposals are now on the table and the Government will decide on Monday what the next move should be, which could be anything from shutting down all non-essential activity to a perimeter lockdown of Palma.
Closing the big stores on the first two weekends in January spectacularly backfired as queues formed in supermarkets and stores the minute they reopened on Monday morning.
There was a muted start to the January sales in Palma on Thursday but shoppers probably stayed at home because it was pouring rain and very cold. Aemet says the weather will clear up next week which might mean more people will head for the capital.
"If there are queues for sales in Palma we are already worried," said Dr Javier Arranz, Spokesperson for the Autonomous Committee of Infectious Diseases. “It's not the fault of the traders, it’s how we behave when we are there.”
The Authorities continue to evaluate where any Covid-19 outbreaks occurred during the Christmas and New Year holidays and it's obvious that not everyone is following the rules.
"We have seen outbreaks where one person had 37 contacts and another with 48 contacts, so they have ignored us and had meetings of more than 6 people," admitted Dr. Javier Arranz.
The Balearic Islands has an accumulated incidence of 543 Covid-19 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days and the numbers continue to rise.
Mallorca has an accumulated incidence rate of 589, Ibiza has 372, Formentera has 272 and Minorca has 197.
The President of the Government, Francina Armengol says our social lives are to blame for the spiralling coronavirus infections in the Balearic Islands.
“We have been at risk in bars and restaurants,” she says, “and especially at gatherings in family homes where it’s important that only the nucleus of the family socialise together.”