Humphrey CarterPalma12/12/2020 10:06
TW
1

The local government has a battle on its hands. Bar and restaurant terraces have been booming ever since restrictions were lifted and yesterday, there were queues for tables inside and outside numerous restaurants in Palma, especially those popular with the “tardeo” (pub crawl) community.

Many of the most popular bars along the Paseo Maritimo and in Santa Catalina opened to serve food and drink earlier than usual and business was booming with the restricted size-groups having either reserved or bagged a table and intent on keeping it until it’s time to start heading home to beat the curfew.

So, all that the government has done is herd people together at lunchtime with many intent on carrying on the festivities well into the early evening. With bars and restaurants at bursting point at lunchtime, how does that differ from people getting together in the evening?

In fact, as a result of the 10pm cut off point, more people are opting for the lunchtime option making keeping social distancing even more complicated and risky for bar and restaurant owners who face getting fined should they fail to enforce the rules and regulations in their establishments.

But, with a surge of people intent on beating the 10pm curfew by getting off to an early start, the end result could be an even further spike in the number of Covid-19 cases. Then what?