Important update: The Govern Balear has exercised the right to adjust the hours of the curfew and has brought the beginning of the night-time curfew forward to 10pm.
The summer season 2020 drew to a fairly premature close at the beginning of October and the islands have now reverted to their tranquil winter mode.
During the short season there had been cases of the coronavirus detected on the island, but it didn't result in a massive spike or serious overload of the healthcare system. On Ibiza and Formentera, the numbers of active cases and hospitalisations have been dropping steadily since a peak in September. Nevertheless, since the reopening, another six people have sadly died from coronavirus here on the islands, bringing the total to 18 since the pandemic began.
Coronavirus cases are growing across the whole of Spain and, for anyone thinking of visiting the islands over the coming months, there are some important new regulations to bear in mind. In an attempt to combat the second wave of the virus a nationwide night-time curfew, has been introduced for the next 15 days, but which could potentially last until 9 May 2021. Each autonomous region has the power to decide if the curfew can be reduced or extended by up to one hour a day.
Travel between the autonomous regions has been restricted, and each region can decide whether to allow movement between neighbours. So please check in advance if you plan to travel to other parts of Spain after leaving the Balearics.
These new measures come in to force two weeks after the President of the Balearic Island Government was embarrassingly caught flouting her own government's previous rules by drinking after hours at a bar in Mallorca.
The important regulations to consider are:
- The night-time curfew is in place from 11pm to 6am. All bars and restaurants must close, and it will be an offence to be on the streets during these hours. Fines starting from €600 can be imposed for breaking the curfew without a justified reason.
- Family and social gatherings have been reduced to 6 persons on Ibiza, but not on Formentera where they remain at 10.
- Mask wearing is obligatory in almost all situations. See our previous article for details here.
- Smoking in the street comes with a potential €100 fine.
It has also been announced that there will be no direct air routes to Ibiza from foreign destinations this winter.
On the positive side
The national government has made it clear there is no intention of returning to a full lockdown and all the economic hardship that it would cause.
International borders remain open and a ‘no quarantine' corridor has been established to the Canary Islands. We live in hope that something similar could come into force here in the Balearics.
The Spanish Government has committed to buying the first batch of 3.1m vaccine doses from AstraZeneca, when the treatment successfully passes its stage 3 trials. This should be enough to start vaccinating frontline workers and some of the most vulnerable after Christmas. Added to the advances in rapid testing which are in the pipeline, we will hopefully be in a position to see travel to the islands reinstated in the new year.
