Spain holiday islands Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca have to wait for further easing of lockdown restrictions

MALLORCA, Ibiza and Menorca have to wait until at least June 8 for a further easing of lockdown restrictions after the Health Ministry decided not to allow the three islands to join Formentera in moving into Phase three on Monday.

The Balearic government had asked the ministry to allow all four to enter the next stage of the lockdown de-escalation together on June 1, allowing for travel between the islands and potentially helping to reactivate the tourism sector.

But Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca only moved into the second phase at the beginning of this week, while Formentera moved up from Phase one on May 18.

At Thursday’s press briefing to announce which areas of Spain would be changing phase, Health Minister Salvador Illa stated that the ministry “is in favour of maintaining the criteria of remaining for 14 days in each phase.”

Illa said this allows for an evaluation of the evolution of the epidemic in each region, indicating that erring or the side of caution is a good idea in these stages of the restriction relaxation.

Responding to the announcement, the Balearic administration said it will “continue working together with the Ministry to guarantee that the de-escalation process is safe for both residents and visitors to the islands.”