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Areas General Services Presidency Formentera enters public health alert tier 2 as island moves to reopen Monday

Formentera enters public health alert tier 2 as island moves to reopen Monday

foto 2021 reunio salutConsell de Formentera premiere Alejandra Ferrer and regional health minister Patricia Gómez met today to review the island’s epidemiological situation beside deputy premiere and commerce chief Ana Juan and director of the Balearic health service Juli Fuster. After the encounter, the officials sat for a press conference to highlight changes in local restrictions that are scheduled to take effect from Saturday 13 March and Monday 15 March.

“The current state of play concerning new Covid-19 cases is very favourable”, said Ferrer, “but we said the same thing as we approached the long weekend in early December and the Christmas holidays. That’s when restrictions were loosened and islanders let their guard down, and Formentera went from tier 1 to enhanced tier 4 public health alert”.

Today, with the island’s low incidence rate and a drastically improved situation on Eivissa, Ferrer said keeping Formentera sealed off to inbound and outbound travel was “unnecessary for now”, but insisted the Balearic government’s refusal to close the islands to outside travel meant certain restrictive measures were “still in order”.

Tier 2 measures

-Indoor and outdoor social and family gatherings remain limited to six people (maximum two households).

From Saturday:

-75% capacity at retail stores.

From Monday:

-Island reopens to in- and outbound travel.
-30% capacity for indoor seating at restaurants; groups of four (max. two households) and service until 5.00pm.
-50% capacity for outdoor seating at restaurants; groups of six (max. two households) and service until 6.00pm.
-Restrictions loosened on sporting and cultural events.

Per agreement by the Inter-territorial Council of the National Health System, specific restrictions from 26 March to 11 April (both inclusive).

-In-/outbound travel prohibited in all regions except Balearic and Canary Islands.
-Important: private gatherings indoors and out are limited to one household.

The Balearic minister insisted that “any loosening of restrictive measures must always be done gradually. And with any de-escalation, there is risk of increased viral spread, so we mustn’t let our guards down”.

President Ferrer pointed out that Formentera’s administration had pressed to keep restrictions in place during Holy Week: “We wanted the travel ban maintained in the region and restrictions on international tourism until we were farther on in the vaccination process. With a sufficient level of herd immunity, we could have reactivated our economy safely and been sure we weren’t jeopardising our wellbeing or personal freedoms by risking a fourth wave and a return to square one”.

“Since the travel ban is being lifted, we’ve asked the Govern balear to keep controls on visitors from the mainland in place and asked for improved controls on islanders when they return. We’ve pressed the government in Madrid for improved controls too, and called for more effective controls so we can be sure international travellers arrive with negative PCR results in hand”.

President Ferrer also stressed the importance of international coordination “so controls are done at travellers’ country of origin, and for health certificates and protocols to assure people can travel safely this summer”.

The premiere concluded by once again asking islanders to be responsible: “In the days ahead we need to be on high alert. People will be coming from off the island, but the virus is already here. We can’t shirk our responsibility towards tourists: many countries and Spanish regions are still closed to travel, so they’ll be few. Some islanders studying elsewhere will be returning home, and some of us here have travel plans of our own. We have to do this responsibly, respecting safety measures and working toward herd immunity if we want to get things back to normal”.

11 March 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

Presidency

Press Office

971 32 10 87 - Ext: 3181
premsa@conselldeformentera.cat

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