Customers on terraces. | Toni Planells

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The Ministry of Health said last week that the Balearic Islands are now at alert level 1 for coronavirus, except Minorca which is at the so-called new normal level.

The Government is planning to keep the current strict measures in place for a minimum of two more weeks to prevent a fourth wave of the disease, which it says would put hospitals under severe pressure once again and wipe out any chance of a tourist season.

But that doesn't tally with the traffic light restrictions originally approved by the Government, which have now been removed from the website.

The Government said that under risk level 1: groups of 20 people could meet outside and 10 inside; 10 people could sit at the same table inside a bar or restaurant and 15 on the terrace and that the curfew would start at midnight.

Right now the interior spaces of bars and restaurants are closed, only 4 people can sit at the same table outside and they must be from no more than 2 different homes.

Related news

The Ministry of Health takes 8 indicators into account when rating the risk level in the Autonomous Communities:

The cumulative incidence rate at 7 and 14 days; the cumulative incidence at 7 and 14 days for those over the age of 65; the positivity of diagnostic tests; Hospital & ICU occupation and traceability.

The traceability indicator is one of the worst issues in the Balearic Islands, with just 58.92% of cases traceable. The Ministry of Health doesn’t know how the other 41% of infections occur, which means that of the 50 new cases reported on Saturday, the origin of just 20 is unknown.

Restrictions

Each Autonomous Community has the power to decide what measure to impose which is why some Communities with a much higher cumulative incidence rate than the Balearic Islands, have fewer restrictions.

In 9 Autonomous Communities in Spain, the hotel industry is open until the curfew begins at 23:00 and all of them have a worse cumulative incidence rate than the Balearics.