Balearic Nightlife Sector. archive photo. | David Pareja Riart

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An increase in infections in recent weeks has completely paralysed the de-escalation process in the Balearic Islands and the big nightclubs in Mallorca and Ibiza won’t now be reopening until next summer, according to Abone President, Miguel Pérez-Marsá.

At the moment, the Nightlife Sector is limited to café concertos and bars, with a closing time of 02:00 and no dancing. The rest of the Sector won’t be allowed to reopen until the end of July at least and the season usually ends in August.

Pilot tests were carried out in Ibiza and Mallorca at the end of June to test the reopening of the nightclubs, but since then everything has ground to a halt once again, because of the rapid increase in coronavirus infections.

Pérez-Marsá says Minister Negueruela’s announcement like a jug of cold water for the Sector.

"We are not responsible for the infections, but our Sector is paying the price,” he said. “These delays makes it almost impossible to operate; the logistics are very complicated in this Sector, staff come from outside the Islands to work here and all the facilities have been closed for more than a year.”

Smaller party venues will probably reopen once they’re authorised by the Government, but guests will need a Vaccination certificate or a negative test to enter.

The majority of Autonomous Communities that had allowed the Nightlife Sector to reopen have backed down this week, amid the widespread increase in infections in Spain.

When the Central Government banned nightlife nationwide in August 2020, Abone demanded survival aid for the Sector, which is the only one that’s still closed."