News
The people’s paper ISSUE NO. 1835
MALLORCA • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
3 - 9 September 2020
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CREDIT: Govern Illes Balears Noticis
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DRIVING home the message about behaving responsibly is key to winning the battle against the Covid19 pandemic, the Balearic president has told Mallorca’s council leaders. Speaking to the mayors via video conference, Francina Armengol underlined the vital role the local authorities play as the institutions closest to residents in keeping the public informed about the health safety measures aimed at reducing the number of infections. She called for the councils’ “maximum involvement” in putting out information on rules and regulations related to Covid-19 and in looking out for compliance with the measures to prevent the virus spreading. Armengol particularly highlighted
VITAL ROLE: Local councils are key to keeping the public informed about health safety measures aimed at reducing infections, the Balearic president told Mallorca’s mayors.
the importance of ensuring compliance with the newly introduced restriction which limits social and family gatherings to no more than 10 people and on reducing social contacts to only those which are essential. The public need to be responsible in order to contain the advance of the virus and to stem the recent growth in new case numbers the Balearic Islands are currently experiencing, she said. The Balearic president also pledged the regional administration will support the councils in finding ways to increase municipal police forces and to speed up the process for providing local administrations with information on new Covid-19 cases. A further pledge was to invest €800,000 via the local cooperation funds in cleaning primary schools.
Fine for lighting up LIGHTING up on a Balearic Island street means risking a minimum fine of €100 under tighter restrictions aimed at containing a surge in new Covid-19 cases. Smoking anywhere outside the home, even at a safe distance from others, is now classified as a minor offence. This means possible fines go all the way up to €3,000, explained Balearic government spokeswoman Pilar Costa. Other offences in this category include failing to wear a face mask and social gatherings of more than 10 people.
The government spokeswoman said these kinds of offences will be considered on a case-bycase basis, taking into account factors like whether an individual is a reoffender. For serious offences the fines go from €3,000 to €6,000, while for very serious offences the fines are
as much as a whopping €600,000. Costa also announced certain clarifications and tweaks to these latest measures which the regional administration announced two days earlier. In relation to the obligation to wear a face mask in the workplace, this does not apply to people who
work in open spaces. Where the reduction to 50 per cent for bar and restaurant maximum numbers for both indoor and outdoor dining areas is concerned, for establishments where maximum capacity is less than 50 people, the limit on capacity remains at 75 per cent.
RISKY: Fines for smoking in public start at €100.