Students start to leave Mallorca quarantine after superspreader outbreak
Palma, Spain, Jul 1 (EFE).- Some 118 Spanish students caught up in a Covid-19 super-spreader outbreak while celebrating the end of the school year in Mallorca ended on Thursday their quarantine after testing negative for the virus.
A total of 1,824 Covid-19 cases across Spain have been linked to the outbreak as crowds of students brought the virus back to the mainland after celebrating on the Balearic Island, a popular destination for party-packed end-of-school vacations.
Almost 6,000 people in 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are still quarantining.
Local authorities in Mallorca ordered students who came into contact with confirmed positive cases to quarantine at a designated hotel, although a local judge later ruled that those who tested negative should be permitted to leave, as had been requested by many of the youngsters and their families.
Around 70 students remain in quarantine at the hotel having tested positive.
The local government is funding the students’ return to the mainland via ferry, although they will not be in contact with any of the crew or other passengers. Once they arrive in Valencia, on Spain’s east coast, they will undergo another Covid-19 test before traveling to their homes, where they will complete the 10-day isolation period.
Over 36% of Spaniards are fully vaccinated against the effects of Covid-19 but younger age groups, who are last on the vaccination list, are witnessing an increase in cases.
The 14-day incidence rate for under 29s is 250 cases per 100,000 people, more than double the national average of 117 per 100,000. EFE
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