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Formentera enters public health alert tier 2 as island moves to reopen Monday

foto 2021 reunio salutConsell de Formentera premiere Alejandra Ferrer and regional health minister Patricia Gómez met today to review the island’s epidemiological situation beside deputy premiere and commerce chief Ana Juan and director of the Balearic health service Juli Fuster. After the encounter, the officials sat for a press conference to highlight changes in local restrictions that are scheduled to take effect from Saturday 13 March and Monday 15 March.

“The current state of play concerning new Covid-19 cases is very favourable”, said Ferrer, “but we said the same thing as we approached the long weekend in early December and the Christmas holidays. That’s when restrictions were loosened and islanders let their guard down, and Formentera went from tier 1 to enhanced tier 4 public health alert”.

Today, with the island’s low incidence rate and a drastically improved situation on Eivissa, Ferrer said keeping Formentera sealed off to inbound and outbound travel was “unnecessary for now”, but insisted the Balearic government’s refusal to close the islands to outside travel meant certain restrictive measures were “still in order”.

Tier 2 measures

-Indoor and outdoor social and family gatherings remain limited to six people (maximum two households).

From Saturday:

-75% capacity at retail stores.

From Monday:

-Island reopens to in- and outbound travel.
-30% capacity for indoor seating at restaurants; groups of four (max. two households) and service until 5.00pm.
-50% capacity for outdoor seating at restaurants; groups of six (max. two households) and service until 6.00pm.
-Restrictions loosened on sporting and cultural events.

Per agreement by the Inter-territorial Council of the National Health System, specific restrictions from 26 March to 11 April (both inclusive).

-In-/outbound travel prohibited in all regions except Balearic and Canary Islands.
-Important: private gatherings indoors and out are limited to one household.

The Balearic minister insisted that “any loosening of restrictive measures must always be done gradually. And with any de-escalation, there is risk of increased viral spread, so we mustn’t let our guards down”.

President Ferrer pointed out that Formentera’s administration had pressed to keep restrictions in place during Holy Week: “We wanted the travel ban maintained in the region and restrictions on international tourism until we were farther on in the vaccination process. With a sufficient level of herd immunity, we could have reactivated our economy safely and been sure we weren’t jeopardising our wellbeing or personal freedoms by risking a fourth wave and a return to square one”.

“Since the travel ban is being lifted, we’ve asked the Govern balear to keep controls on visitors from the mainland in place and asked for improved controls on islanders when they return. We’ve pressed the government in Madrid for improved controls too, and called for more effective controls so we can be sure international travellers arrive with negative PCR results in hand”.

President Ferrer also stressed the importance of international coordination “so controls are done at travellers’ country of origin, and for health certificates and protocols to assure people can travel safely this summer”.

The premiere concluded by once again asking islanders to be responsible: “In the days ahead we need to be on high alert. People will be coming from off the island, but the virus is already here. We can’t shirk our responsibility towards tourists: many countries and Spanish regions are still closed to travel, so they’ll be few. Some islanders studying elsewhere will be returning home, and some of us here have travel plans of our own. We have to do this responsibly, respecting safety measures and working toward herd immunity if we want to get things back to normal”.

11 March 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

Formentera Local Police join system to protect victims of gender violence

foto 2021 viogen sala amable bEarlier today Consell de Formentera premiere Alejandra Ferrer and Balearic Islands Civil Guard territorial colonel in chief Alejandro Hernández Mosquera signed a deal to protect victims of gender violence.

The ceremony was also attended by Balearic government envoy Aina Calvo, island director of the central government Enrique Sánchez Navarrete, local social welfare chief Rafael Ramírez, equality chief Vanessa Parellada and chief of Formentera Local Police Félix Ramos.

The deal sets down operational protocol for collaboration between FLP and the local Civil Guard so gender violence victims’ court-ordered protections are respected. The protocol includes criteria and guidelines about how the two forces should coordinate responses to situations related to gender violence.

With the new agreement in place, the FLP can intervene directly, implementing and reviewing police and court orders to ensure gender violence victims living on Formentera are safe. In that respect, President Ferrer welcomed its signing, saying the deal would open the door to improved victim care — “now more important than ever in these times of pandemic”, she insisted.

For her part, Ms Calvo described the agreement as “key to being able to monitor victims and keep them safer”, and asserted that the inter-agency coordination would make protocol more efficient.

‘Sala amable’
After the signing, the officials visited a space known as “Sala amable” at the local Civil Guard station. President Ferrer pointed out that the space was designed with victims in mind to inspire trust and security, with funding for the changes provided by the Formentera government.

With €2,500, the Formentera Department of Equality saw to the the room’s painting, furniture and decoration and equipped it to make it cosier, more welcoming and comfortable for victims and children, who often stay with the parent-victim when charges are being brought against an abuser.

The agreement and the new space mark further progress in the Consell’s multi-department effort to tackle gender violence. It is also the latest example of the ongoing and fruitful collaboration between Formentera’s government and the Civil Guard, which, according to Colonel Hernández Mosquera, is about quality of life improvements for islanders and tourists alike.

The Formentera Department of New Technologies additionally paid €7,000 to equip the Civil Guard station with a video conferencing system to be shared by FLP and the Formentera Department of Social Welfare.

Message of thanks
Lastly, President Ferrer shared thanked local law enforcement for their work during the pandemic and applauded their efforts while the island was sealed off to in- and out-bound travel. “We’re not out of the woods yet though”, insisted the premiere, adding renewed efforts would be necessary to “keeping the situation under control while we work toward herd immunity so we can reactivate our economy and regain personal freedoms”.

11 March 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

‘Formentera, one year after’, Javier Parejo’s photo tribute to islanders

cartell 2021 javi parejo 1The Formentera Department of Culture reports that Monday 15 March, exactly twelve months after emergency orders went into effect across Spain, Javier Parejo will pull the curtain back on Formentera, un any després (Formentera, one year after). The display of photos will be on view in the Centre Antoni Tur “Gabrielet” courtyard from 15 to 31 March, 10.00am to 2.00pm and 6.00pm to 8.00pm, Tuesday to Saturday.

As the photographer put it, “It’s a year since we masked up. A year of precious few embraces and of half-smiles. It’s been... sad”. Parejo seized on the one year mark to reach out to local government about collaborating on the exhibition, which he said was about “thanking the people of Formentera: it’s been a difficult situation, but you’ve hung in there”.

Lockdown and de-escalation
The exhibition comprises 24 photos taken between 14 March and 30 May 2020, days when Parejo hit the street, camera in hand, and attempted to capture the actions and reactions of islanders in the midst of the pandemic. The photographer says he was struck by the idea that “if there’s such thing as an ideal backdrop for a lockdown, it’s an island. And an island like Formentera in particular”.

Some of the scenes photographed are empty spaces, others are of islanders going about their daily business amid decidedly unusual times. “We see the lives of people whose awareness has grown and who have adapted. The people looking at the camera are giving thanks — to themselves and to others”, says Parejo.

The photographer’s message is one of all-encompassing gratitude: for the woman who sells bread, the one making masks in a garage, or the mother who can finally play football with her son. “We’re not out of the tunnel yet”, said Parejo, “but I wanted to offer this tribute for the effort everyone’s making”.

Parejo’s website offers an online tour of the exhibition, including extras that bring the total number of snapshots to 40. A photographer and local business owner, Parejo was born in Extremadura but has lived on Formentera since age four. Visitors to his website can also read his full bio and learn about past works.

11 March 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

Land hand-off for public housing in Sant Ferran

foto 2021 conveni IBAVIConsell de Formentera chief Alejandra Ferrer and Balearic mobility and housing minister Josep Marí Ribas sat down today to sign a deal freeing up a plot of land in Sant Ferran for public housing. Under the agreement, Formentera’s government will give the Balearic housing agency a parcel on carrer d’Alacant so it can build 16 to 20 new units of housing, with the regional minister indicating construction could start as soon as May 2022.

The premiere explained to Marí Ribas that access to housing was one of the island’s biggest problems and one that has grown worse with the crisis. She also detailed progress on efforts to regulate holiday rentals and free up housing for residents, stressing the need to create a housing office.

For his part, the Balearic mobility and housing minister welcomed the hand-off of the land: “We live in a finite territory where demand for land is high, and we know freeing up buildable lots is difficult, so I’d like to applaud the local collaboration that made this possible.”

Last December in plenary, decision makers on the island voted to offer the 784.8-square-metre plot to the regional housing authority for public housing. To set the wheels in motion on a draft project, IBAVI will launch a call for architectural ideas this April, with drafting of the basic project and execution to follow.

First inter-administration encounter
Before the land grant deal was signed, the Balearic minister’s first official visit to Formentera found him meeting with Ferrer, local deputy chief and housing councillor Ana Juan and mobility councillor Rafael González too. The officials spoke about regulating ferry connections between Eivissa and Formentera through creation of maritime transport guidelines, part of a twofold effort to meet resident and tourist demand and guarantee environmental sustainability. The officials also discussed formentera.eco and the importance of public moorage points.

10 March 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

Island law enforcement cite 19 for violating public health protocol

Officers of the Formentera Local Police and Civil Guard ticketed 19 individuals yesterday at 7.15pm for failure to comply with public health orders.

At approximately 7.00pm a private citizen notified authorities that thirty-some mask-less individuals were flouting distancing protocol and were gathered near a dry-dock on Migjorn beach. Law enforcement appeared on the scene and identified a group of 19 people in violation of mask rules and regulations limiting social gatherings to six individuals from no more than two households.

The offenders were ticketed, citations which will be processed by the Balearic office of emergencies and the interior.

The Consell de Formentera premiere once again asked islanders to act responsibly and comply with all public health protocol: “After many restrictions that have affected each and every one of us, the epidemiological situation is now quite favourable and the summer season is in sight. But, things can change at the drop of a hat and threaten all of our wellbeing and jeopardise our economy”. “It’s not fair that a few irresponsible individuals endanger the sacrifices we’ve all made and the long route we’ve tread”, she said. Ferrer closed by encouraging islanders to collaborate by reporting rule breakers.

Yesterday Formentera Local Police pressed charges against a business for violation of public health regulations related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Law enforcement will be reinforcing controls this weekend, enlisting drones to patrol remote corners of the island.

6 March 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

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