While the coronavirus situation here on Ibiza and Formentera continues to improve, the Govern Balear has made some subtle changes to the restrictions in place to control the spread. Whereas we were hoping to bring news of a general relaxation of the controls, on Ibiza we are being kept at the highest state of lockdown, Level 4+ (extreme risk), for the next two weeks.
Yesterday (25 February), there were less than 800 active cases on the islands and the number of hospitalisations is falling. However, the fourteen-day rolling infection rate on Ibiza stood at 263 per 100k residents - way higher than the rest of the islands in the Balearic archipelago. We also passed a very sad milestone this week, when the 100th person on the islands died as a result of the disease.
It is the right idea to remain cautious, and the local authorities have asked to extend the restrictions now, in order to save the summer season further down the line. Plus, the high presence of the British variant on the island is giving extra cause for concern. In fact, from this week onwards, Ibiza will be the only region in the country whose hospitality industry remains 100% closed.
Over on Formentera, the situation has noticeably improved, and the state of alert has been relaxed to Level 3+ (High Risk). Restaurants and bars can now reopen 50% of their terraces until 18:00, but the night-time curfew remains at 22:00. So, the lucky formenterers can now finally enjoy a nice meal in the sunshine with a small number of their friends and family. Frustratingly, we won't be able to share it with them for a while, as both islands remain isolated from the outside world for the time being.
The full list of rules and regulations can be found here.
On an even more positive note, the local health authority has revealed ambitious plans to vaccinate 360,000 people per month from the middle of March. This should mean that the whole Balearic population will be protected by the middle of June. Then, it's game on!
Some of the big businesses on the island are already getting warmed up in anticipation of a summer tourist season and we will be bringing you the exciting news the moment we receive it. Watch this space...
