There will be no nightlife in Ibiza as of Thursday. This was confirmed yesterday afternoon by the Balearic Consellar of the Presidency, Mercedes Garrido, after a meeting at the Consell with its representatives, local island councils and Ibiza and Formentera Health Area manager, Carmen Santos. The goal is, as both she and the president of the Consell, Vicent Marí, explained, to try to curb infections in order to keep the tourist season going. Both Garrido and Marí insisted that these measures are being taken due to the “worrying” numbers of incidents and pressure on hospitals, and they repeated countless times the importance of the population getting vaccinated “to save lives and the economy”.

The new restrictions are a step backwards in the long-awaited de-escalation and were announced after a day of intense debate in which it was even proposed to bring back the mandatory use of masks outdoors. It was not clear if this last measure could be enforced, given that it was abolished by central government less than a month ago. In the end, after the public consternation triggered by this proposal, the Govern limited itself to “asking everyone to wear a mask if unable to maintain a metre and a half social distance”. “We must fight against botellones,” said Garrido, who noted that from Thursday those who take part can face a particularly heavy fine. The penalty just for attending will be one thousand euros, two thousand if the person attending is a close contact of a positive case and a minimum of 5,000 if skipping quarantine to drink in the street. All these amounts would increase in the event of a repeat offence, he said. Fines are also being increased for establishments, other than bars of restaurants, that sell alcohol after ten o’clock at night: a minimum of 2,000 euros.

Parks and beaches closed

Likewise, parks and beaches will be closed between 10pm and 6am, as these are the places where most people gather to drink. Once again, the restrictions are yet another setback for the restaurant industry. Bars and restaurants will have to close at one o’clock in the morning. In addition, the number of people at tables is again restricted: no more than four inside premises and no more than eight outside. One o’clock in the morning becomes Cinderella time once again. From that time, in fact, you can only be out walking in the street, and only with cohabitants. Although still to be approved by the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJB), the Government intends to prohibit meetings between people who do not share a house between one and six in the morning. It will not be possible to meet with anyone in public or private spaces, either indoors or outdoors. Garrido said that the Govern’s intention is to maintain this measure for a month, although this could be reviewed in fifteen days. If the TSJB gives the go-ahead, it would come into force this weekend. That same day, the 24th, after receiving approval from the courts, the extension of controls at posts and airports as requested by the Govern would also come into force. The intention is to maintain these controls until September 15th, said the Consellera.

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