Tighter restrictions on get-togethers in Balearics as new Covid-19 cases shoot up

THE Balearic government announced tighter restrictions on get-togethers on Friday as the number of new Covid-19 cases on the islands shot up by 81 in just 24 hours.
The administration’s regional Health ministry has limited indoor family and social gatherings to 15 people and to 30 outdoors, whether at private or public premises. The maximum numbers had been 30 and 70 respectively.
The change also applies to celebrations of a religious character which involve a party, a meal or similar, whether at the organisers’ homes or at places of worship. However it excludes weddings or similar kinds of celebrations; the maximums remain 250 people for outdoor spaces and 150 in enclosed areas.
Social distancing must be observed at all times at all kinds of events, the government reminds the public.
The regional Health ministry has also “reinforced the prohibition” on all so-called “botellones”, or boozy gatherings, usually of young people, on the street or in any outdoor public place, including parks and squares.
Posting details of the new restrictions on social media, the Balearic government stressed “Covid-19 has not disappeared”, and called on the public to exercise “caution and responsibility.”
By Friday the total number of people testing positive for the virus on the archipelago since the start of the pandemic had reached 2,651. Of the 81 cases registered since Thursday, half were cases from the previous few days which had been pending validation, Spanish press reported.
Nearly 70 per cent of the new cases are asymptomatic.
So far 2,142 people on the islands have recovered from the virus and there have been 230 deaths.