FREE
E IV US CL EX
The
OLIVE PRESS MALLORCA
Your expat
voice in Spain
Vol. 4 Issue 80 www.theolivepress.es May 15th - May 28th, 2020
THE MAN WHO BEAT COVID TWICE An expat from Alicante has proven you can catch coronavirus a second time... and still survive
Find out how on P5 TOUGH AS OLD BOOTS: Ian Tanner has twice been diagnosed but cheated death
Down the pecking order
disaster The likely cancelation of summer holidays for Brits in Spain will be ‘catastrophic’ for the Balearics
THE European Union is making a desperate bid to salvage the holiday season for Spain. It comes after Brits were warned that holidays abroad this summer are ‘very likely’ to be cancelled. Health Secretary Matt Hancock broke the potentially devastating news for Spain during an appearance on ITV’s This Morning on Tuesday. “We haven’t made a final decision... but it is unlikely that AN emu has become the latest big, lavish international holivictim of coronavirus. days are going to be possible The flightless bird in Verdegas, for this summer,” he told hosts Alicante, has been left homeHolly Willoughby and Philip less after its owner died of COSchofield. VID-19. The move, if confirmed, would It was part of a menagerie of 27 be a huge blow for the Spanish animals, which also included a tourism industry, and more so llama – since re-homed in Barfor Mallorca and the Balearic celona – that were left abanIslands as a whole, a region doned. which is heavily reliant on the A concerned local called in El hundreds of thousands British Refugio del Burrito donkey tourists who visit every sumsanctuary in Cordoba, which mer. has been sending supplies for Some 12% of the country’s the animals to be fed. GDP is from tourism, while in When it comes to being reMallorca it generated 14.6% of homed, the emu has been left the region’s GDP in 2019. firmly down the pecking order. According to the president of Nicky Cohen, from the refuge the Government of the Balearsaid: “The problem is that you ic Islands, Francina Armengol, need a special zoological lithe autonomous community cence to own an emu. will suffer the most, foresee“If there is anyone who does ing a 30% drop in earnings this have the right papers, we year. FREEDOM: Palma residents finally get to enjoy a drink on a restaurant terwould love to hear from them.” Largely attributed to a loss of tourrace as Mallorca enters Phase 1. See full story on page 6/7 ists, if the prediction rings true, the Balearic economy will shrink three times more than the rest of Spain. The revelation by Hancock came just hours after the central government announced a mandatory 14day quarantine for all international travellers arriving from May 15 - the UK BASED same measure announced by the UK on Monday. This would mean that tourists would have to stay inside their accommodation for two weeks, before having to quarantine once again when arfor Spanish riving back to the UK. “It will most likely continue residents throughout the de-escalation period,” confirmed Health Minister www.globelink.co.uk Salvador Illa. For those without second homes and who don’t plan on staying for months at a time, it makes a holiday 96 626 5000 to Spain practically impossible in +44 (0) 1353 699082 the short term. Photo by Allan Binderup
At least you can do this at last..
TRAVEL INSURANCE
By Laurence Dollimore and Isha Sasay
The move has been received with astonishment by those working within the tourism sector in Mallorca, with hoteliers and business associations publicly criticising the decision. The president of the Business Association of Balearic Travel Agencies (AVIBA), Francesc Mulet, described the moves as ‘completely wrong’, claiming that the quarantine period would ‘completely destroy the Balearic economy.’ “Health protocols should instead be applied at airports,” he insisted. This was echoed by the Minister for Labour, Commerce and Tourism, Iago Negueruela, who stressed the need to implement a health passport. This would monitor variables such as the temperature of visitors, thus giving the authorities a way to assess the health of those arriving to the islands. However, there is still a glimmer of hope for tourism after Ryanair announced that it would restart approximatey 40% of its flights across Europe from July 1.
Positive
In more positive news for Mallorca, the airline also revealed that it intends to commence its first routes to Palma’s Son Sant Joan airport from the end of June. Flying out of 80 bases, their destinations and the probability of them filling up will depend on agreements between countries. The UK has already confirmed, for example, that quarantine measures will not apply to those travelling from France or Ireland and there will be considerable lobbying by the Spanish tourism industry and airlines over the next few weeks. This week, the European Union confirmed it would do everything it could to help. It proposes a phased approach across the European Union that sweeps away closed borders and travel restrictions. The Commission said it is looking to Continues on Page 5