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article_detail
Date Published: 15/07/2020
ARCHIVED - Balearic Islands closes key drinking streets after images of drunken Brits anger Spain
Streets will be closed, large drinking glasses banned and bars fined for failing to enforce Covid regulations
Image1: Inspectors patrolling the streets last weekend to ensure bars and restaurants are themselves complying and enforcing the legislation. As it turns out, they weren´t. See below.
On Wednesday the regional Government of the Balearic Islands announced its decision to close the streets of calle Miquel Pellisa and Pare Bartomeu Salvá in El Arenal and calle Punta Ballena in Magaluf after widespread condemnation of images showing drunken Brits (and drunken Spaniards and drunks of other nationlaities but mainly Brits and Spaniards to be fair) breaching social distancing guidelines and failing to wear masks in the street in breach of Spain-wide Covid restrictions.
The images, which were widely shared on social and mainstream media, have provoked scathing criticism from not only Spaniards but also British nationals, many of whom expressed shame and anger on social media after the British media showed photos and video of one incident in which chanting and cheering Brits jumped on a Mercedes reportedly causing 2,000 euros of damage.
Below is just one of the videos which has caused such offence:
La vieja normalidad de Punta Ballena, Magaluf. Vídeo de: Michels. @UHmallorca pic.twitter.com/0gc8YXi5ha
— Guillermo Esteban (@GuillEsteban) July 11, 2020
The Balearic Government has published a resolution closing the abovementioned streets and prohibiting the use of any drinking glasses larger than half a litre, as well as the “pajitas largas ” which encourage shared drinking.
The “Ley de Excesos” also prohibits the use of high tables and bar stools as these “encourage clients to stand, rather than sit at tables, and not respect the social distancing regulations”. From now on, bars will be obliged to install lower tables “at which clients can sit” (and behave themselves).
“Our tourism activity also depends on our image”, said Iago Negueruela, Minister for Tourism and Employment, “and we ask our tourists to respect the measures established by our Government”.
“If tourists are not prepared to obey these rules then we ask them not to come to our islands. We don’t want uncivil holidaymakers here. We passed an ‘anti-trash tourism’ decree at the start of the year to tell them not to come and not to misbehave.”
“All commercial establishments, bars and restaurants in these streets will have to close today. We are not going to tolerate the type of images we have been seeing over the last few days.”
Regional Minister for public administration Isabel Castro explained that infractions of the laws could imply fines of 100 to 3,000 euros for “mild infractions” and 3,0001 to 60,000 euros for “serious infractions”.
At the weekend the regional administration sent teams of inspectors into the principal tourism streets as part of a new initiative to ensure that tourists comply with the Covid legislation and minimise the risk of contagions for local workers and visitors on the islands as well as ensuring bars and restaurants working in the tourism sector also comply. Bars are obliged to maintain a limited capacity and display adequate signage warning visitors about the regulations, and also face stiff fines for non-compliance.
In total there were 51 interventions in bars on the four islands, resulting in 24 denuncias.
Inspectors also broke up “botellon” (drinking) sessions and gatherings on the beaches of Ciutat Jardí (Palma) i Es Pujols (Formentera); polígono de Ciutadella (Menorca); and in 5 barrios, or districts of Palma (Son Rapinya; Las Maravillas; Son Gibert; Llevant, and El Arenal). Many of these involved young people of Spanish nationality as well as other nationalities.
Botellon parties, in which young people get together in open-air spaces to drink and socialise, bringing their alcohol with them, are a massive problem all over Spain and it is no co-incidence that the average age of those contracting Covid at the moment has fallen considerably since lockdown ended as so many of the new cases are related to these drinking gatherings. Many of the new outbreaks relate to parties or gatherings involving young people and it is something the authorities are determined to clamp down on.
Restaurants in Palma, Inca and Ses Salines (Mallorca); Es Castell (Menorca) and Playa de Talamanca (Eivissa), will face sanctions for failing to observe capacity limits, opening hours and enforcing social distancing.
The inspectors also broke up private parties in Manacor, Algaida and Puigpunyent.
Last week the Balearic Islands joined Catalonia in enforcing the use of facemasks at all times in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19. This has since been adopted by many other areas of Spain.
An estimated 15 billion euros worth of revenue was lost by the tourism sector in Spain during the first two months of lockdown, but as the number of outbreaks continues to spark concern amongst the 17 regional governments of Spain, fears grow about the potential economic damage a second wave of Covid-19 could cause.
This afternoon the number of cases in Spain has risen by a further 390 to 257,494 with 28,413 offiical deaths since the pandemic began.
“Tourism at any price” is not an option for regional governments in Spain at the moment.
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