Ibiza pilot club event records no new coronavirus infections

Ibiza’s first pilot club event has recorded no new coronavirus infections.

The first pilot event on the White Isle took place at the Hard Rock Hotel on Friday 25th June, with 1200 of the island’s key workers invited for a session aimed at testing COVID-19 protocols within nightlife and music settings ahead of clubs being allowed to return en masse.

Now, Diario de Ibiza reports that results from the event “conclude that there was no Covid infection” among its 1,236 attendees, who were largely fully vaccinated, and wore masks throughout the event. If attendees could not provide proof of vaccination, a negative PCR test or certificate of recovery on entry, they were tested for coronavirus on site.

Speaking about the results, José Luis Benítez from the Ibiza Leisure Association said: “The results show that the pilot test has been a success and that safe leisure can be enjoyed. We have shown that this is the way forward to finally open the regulated leisure offer and so that people can be monitored in the event of an outbreak, as opposed to what we are seeing in illegal parties, where attendees cannot be identified and also become real sources of contagion.”

Earlier this month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that all UK travellers would be required to have a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination upon entry to the Balearic Islands. As of Monday 9th July, 457 new cases of coronavirus have been reported across the Balearic Islands. The spike in cases comes after the UK government added the Balearic Islands to its green watch list for travel last week. 

Studies of pilot events in Germany and Spain have suggested music events can be safely reintroduced with additional health measures, and after a number of trial events, the UK is planning to fully reopen its hospitality sector from next Monday 19th July.