Giant cluster in Mallorca, thousands of students in isolation: “We are scared”

Hundreds of young people, sometimes minors, have been isolated in several hotels in Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands. Blame it on a student party that turned into a giant cluster. They are indeed several thousand to have tested positive for the coronavirus and placed in quarantine in seven regions of the country. This giant cluster, which is making headlines in Spain, comes as the health situation has improved markedly in recent weeks in the country thanks to the progress of the vaccination campaign.

“We must assume the consequences”

They wanted to celebrate the end of a rather special year, but not one evening did they respect the barrier gestures. A large reggaeton concert even had to be interrupted by the police for breaking health rules. Fifteen days later, the result is there: more than 1,000 positive cases for the coronavirus have been recorded.

Five thousand students from all over Spain are therefore in solitary confinement, including 20-year-old Javier. “We weren’t wearing masks and there was no distancing. But this is no longer the time to have regrets. What is done is done, now we must assume the consequences,” he admits.

“We are scared”

Most of the students have left the island, but 250 of them, including minors, are still held in Mallorca. They have been transferred to a Covid hotel and are not allowed to leave their rooms. They are watched day and night by the police. “We want to get out,” we hear shouting from the balconies. Among these young people, Blanca and Lola, aged 17 and 18. “We’re really scared, we don’t know what to do. The Civil Guard even forbade us to go downstairs to have breakfast,” they regret.

Lawyers believe that these isolation measures targeting minors are illegal. But this giant cluster is of great concern to the authorities as the number of cases is on the rise again throughout Spain.