The spokesman for the Autonomous Committee for the Management of Infectious Diseases of the Balearic Islands, Javier Arranz, recommended the continuation of security measures yesterday at the weekly press conference, such as the social distancing, even though next June 26 the obligation to wear a mask outdoors ends. “I think this is good news. We are in a good position on the islands to deal with this measure safely.”
He also stated that what worries him most “is people feeling that not wearing masks outdoors is the same as saying ‘it’s over’ ”.
The spokesman for the management committee of the pandemic in the Balearic Islands insisted that now it is a matter of “making people understand that while the requirement to wear masks is being relaxed, this goes hand in hand with the continuation of intense measures”.
“Not using the masks outdoors does not mean THEIR USE HAS BEEN ABOLISHED” during the health crisis
As an example, he explained: “We can’t think of leaving the house without a mask because it will still be required indoors: shopping, in the theatre, in many places. This does not mean goodbye to masks”. Arranz used the State of Israel as an example, where they have recently had to return to wearing masks indoors after removing them first outdoors and then indoors.
The data provided yesterday by Javier Arranz regarding the evolution of the pandemic in Ibiza and Formentera is encouraging, although there has been little change in terms of the accumulated incidence of COVID infections.
Cumulative incidence
Specifically, Ibiza has a cumulative 14 day incidence per one hundred thousand inhabitants of 63.2 cases, while at seven days it is 31 cases. Arranz stressed that on this island, “the trend is downward” as a week ago the accumulated incidence was almost 70 cases in 14 days; “This is where we have seen improvement,” he stressed.
In the case of Formentera, the cumulative 14 day incidence is 67 cases per one hundred thousand inhabitants. “Here the main reason is that a few cases, in the 16-29 age group, greatly influence the incidence when this is a smaller population,” he reiterated.
Arranz summarised that in Ibiza, with this data, “a definite but slow improvement hs been detected” and that in Formentera “these ups and downs” occur.
Both Ibiza and Formentera continue to lead the accumulated incidence in the Balearic Islands as a whole.
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