One of the UK’s favourite holiday destination has declared a flu epidemic, requiring anyone with symptoms to wear masks in public. Manuela Garcia, Minister for Health on the Balearic Islands archipelago, warned that infections could reach their peak in coming weeks, spelling trouble for Brits hoping to escape the winter blues by heading abroad for Christmas. Majorca, one of the archipelago’s most popular tourist spots, averages 16C in December and offers six hours of sunshine daily.
Despite a recent spate of anti-tourism protests, UK residents have continued to flood the strained spot in hordes, but they could get more than they bargained for while visiting this month. Ms Garcia said this week that the Balearics had officially entered a flu epidemic phase after 37.3 infections were recorded per 100,000 inhabitants and urged residents to innoculate themselves against infection, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reports.
Ms Garcia said that the recent rise in case numbers signalled an unusually early peak of flu contagion, with the highest number of infections normally recorded in January.
She said the situation had forced officials to implement urgent contingency plans including opening additional hospital beds and hiring new healthcare personnel.
As well as urging anyone showing flu symptoms to cover their faces in public, she said healthcare workers and those regularly in contact with elderly and vulnerable people should take similar precautions to those observed during the Coronavirus pandemic.
“All the measures we learned during COVID are absolutely still valid,” she said.
The archipelago’s Regional Ministry of Health said locals and visitors should prepare for a general increase in cases of respiratory viruses throughout December – in particular, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, both of which are linked to seasonal factors.
The confirmation of an official epidemic was accompanied by the approval of a series of measures aimed at tackling different intensities of infection, from mask-wearing to protocols in hospitals and nursing homes.
Spanish health minister Monica Garcia said on social media: “We have approved a common protocol with all the autonomous communities for dealing with flu, Covid-19 and other respiratory infections. Teleworking and masks in healthcare centres save lives. We said it was necessary and possible. And we have achieved it.”