President Armengol having stated earlier in the week that the Balearics are prepared if there is a "sixth wave", the regional health ministry is not ruling out calling for the Digital Covid Certificate to be a requirement for entering bars and restaurants.
The ministry and the government are reluctant to have to reintroduce restrictions that have been lifted, such as bar and restaurant capacity. The certificate would be a means of avoiding having to bring these restrictions back, if there is a sixth wave of the pandemic.
The spokesperson for the regional committee for infectious diseases, Javier Arranz, says he does not think "it is a priority right now", but it does remain an option.
For Arranz, the certificate would have two objectives. As well as preventing sectors such as hospitality being hit by restrictions once more, there would be an incentive for more people to get vaccinated. Even so, he believes that vaccination levels in the Balearics are acceptable. Currently, 81.93% of the target population have had the complete course and 83.70% have had at least one dose.
This said, vaccination among certain age groups is not at the desired level. This is another reason why the certificate could be considered.
Several weeks ago, the government looked as if it might make the certificate a requirement for bars and restaurants. Rulings by courts made it think again, but a subsequent ruling by the Supreme Court in Madrid regarding the situation in Galicia opened the door to the possibility.