Parents in Spain’s Holiday Islands Will Be Fined If Children are Caught Misbehaving

PARENTS in Spain’s holiday islands will now face fines on behalf of the Balearic government if their children, below the age of 16, are caught ‘street drinking.’ This heavily common practice has recently been banned in a strict manner in order to avoid Covid transmission between the younger population.
Since July 31 of last year, those who ‘street drink’ (also known as botellon in Spanish) in the Balearic Islands can be fined up to €3,000. Now if a minor under the age of 16 is caught drinking, the civil liability will be transferred to the parents or their legal guardians.
Since August 1, street drinking has been considered as a public health violation due to the consequences it can have on the expansion of the coronavirus. Therefore, the severity of this practice has increased, and police are more vigilant as they try to stop teens from illegally drinking and contracting the virus.
The Balearic Islands is not the first autonomous community to take this measure against ‘botellon’ and ‘street drinking.’ In recent days there have been many complaints in towns in Catalonia, Navarra and Andalucia.
The message is to educate the youngest population about the importance of wearing a mask and respecting the safety distance. The last spokesperson to join this campaign was the actor Miguel Rellan, who was recently admitted to hospital due to the coronavirus for 21 days.