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The word on the street last week was that it was the German government which forced the hand of the Spanish and then Balearic government into shutting down streets in the Playa de Palma, Magalluf and Sant Antoni.

Balearic government sources denied such claims, but at the start of last week it was common knowledge that Germany’s health minister had expressed concerns about reports of German tourists partying in the Playa de Palma without masks or apparently, any regard for coronavirus-related social distancing. He said the tourists could cause a risk to other passengers on their flights, as well as people back home.

Over the weekend a number of Spanish papers delved into the issue of resort closures and it appears that at least three senior members of the German government contacted central government in Madrid to underline just how worried they were about what was going on the Playa de Palma.

It appears that, once Berlin had hung up on Madrid, the Spanish government was on the dog and bone to Palma and before we knew it, the Balearic Minister for Tourism caught everyone by surprise, including President Francina Armengol, who was not particularly in favour of such drastic and immediate action, by ordering the street closures. As far as we know, the British government said nothing but it certainly looks likes it was Germany which pulled the trigger.