While the shuttle traffic of charter planes has once again started to move to the tourist magnet Mallorca, local authorities are warning about the infection situation.
After several months with yellow and green levels of infection development, the curve is now pointing upwards. The warning lights have started flashing red again and the R-number is 1.4.
Nearly 5,000 have been quarantined in an attempt to crack down on the infection. A reggae concert may have been the hearth of an extensive outburst. Now the tourists are flocking.
WRONG WAY: The infection in Mallorca is again pointing upwards. Graphics: Cercle d’Economia de Mallorca
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Splinter Mallorca
Swedish Elizabeth Ekman runs online newspapers Mallorca News. She has covered the corona situation on the holiday island since the first confirmed case of infection in February last year. Now she is experiencing a divided Mallorca before tourists flock to.
– We have had a low level of infection for several months, but in recent weeks it has increased again, especially among young adults. Most people here hope that tourists will come this year, but my Swedish readers are more reluctant. The latest outbreak does not make the situation better, Ekman tells Dagbladet.
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Restrained with opening
Both German and Swedish tourists have already begun to occupy Mallorca, but departures from Norway have also begun to become more frequent. British tourists who are infection-free or vaccinated will enter the island after 1 July.
At the same time, the authorities in the Balearic Islands are working hard on a plan in case the outbreaks are to come like pearls on a string this summer.
The dilemma is huge. The local business community is largely built on tourism. The pandemic has hit many people hard. Several stand on the edge of the cliff.
– It is not «business as usual». Many have closed and several hotels are waiting to open. Especially those who target the British market, says Ekman.
Outbreak in holiday paradise: – We are afraid
From record to bankruptcy
In the peak year 2019 alone, more than three million Britons came to Mallorca. However, they represent only about 20 percent of the annual tourists.
As expected, 2020 was a solid downturn. Due to the pandemic and travel restrictions, only just under two million visitors showed up.
– 2019 was a record year. No one thinks it will be the same again this year – maybe not ever. I do not know how many have gone bankrupt, it is difficult to say. Many here run small family businesses that just close in silence, says Ekman.
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Vaccination in the Balearic Islands has got off to a good start. 50 percent of the population in the archipelago has received the first dose. Over 30 percent are fully vaccinated. In Mallorca, it looks even brighter, but 60 and 40 percent, respectively.
The fear of what the coming tourist season may bring is still great after the last eruption. People who end up in quarantine have also expressed fear of the situation.
Six have fallen to their deaths this year – three of them from this hotel
Escapes from isolation
More than 200 Spanish students will be isolated in quarantine hotels in Mallorca alone. One of them is 17-year-old Lucía Cano.
“We are scared, because they have not told us how long we will be stuck here,” she told the BBC.
At the same time, local media are reporting, among them Majorca daily bulletin, that several who have been placed in isolation after the last outbreak have tried to escape from the hotel they are located at. Night to Tuesday it must have happened again, when two students tried to escape from a hotel in Palma.
According to the Majorca daily bulletin, one of the two returned to the hotel voluntarily after a few hours. The police have still not been able to track down the latter. The same applies to three others who are wanted after they ran away from isolation earlier this week.
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