Bar & restaurant owners & customers urged to be responsible

“Be careful, we cannot afford to throw away in a week everything that we have achieved in the last few months" said Government Spokesperson and Economic Model Minister, Iago Negueruela who warned that "the slightest rise in infections will result in immediate closure."

The new rules allowing bar, restaurant and café terraces to open until 17:00, plus a 15 minute cleaning up time, will be in force for 15 days and the Government has already hinted that these measures may be extended.

"Greater openness depends on our behaviour," said Negueruela, who stressed that it’s up to those who run the premises and their customers to be responsible.

“It’s going to be a slow process. We must continue to limit social life and we cannot return to drinking in plazas all afternoon,” added Negueruela, who also stressed that bars are only allowed to serve alcohol to customers on their terraces and can only sell alcohol with food to TakeAway after the terraces close at 1700.

Restoration Mallorca-CAEB says it understands the Government’s call for people to be responsible but has issued a message of its own.

"Restoration CAEB gives a warning to the authorities to intensify the control of illegal drinking and meetings in homes, which is where most infections take place and monitor mobility to completely flatten the curve," said the CAEB statement. It also called on all partners and customers to "be responsible and maintain good practices, including at ports and airports.”

Preparations are already underway in Palma for Tuesday’s reopening when bars and restaurants will again be allowed to set up terraces in parking spaces outside their premises.