Mass outbreak affects 24 Catalan students after end-of-year trip to Menorca

BarcelonaNew "mass outbreak" following an end-of-year trip. Up to 24 students from a number of schools in Barcelona have been infected with coronavirus on an end-of-year trip to Menorca from 12th to 18th June, and 40 more are awaiting results. The Department of Health has said it will not disclose the names of the affected schools because the centres have no connection with the organisation of travel, organised by the students themselves independently by creating Whatsapp groups and contacting travel agencies specialising in this type of event.

As reported by the Health Dpt, the episode "has no apparent relationship" with the huge outbreak that has occurred on the island of Mallorca and which does not affect any person residing in Catalonia. The outbreak in Mallorca, which has had 500 infections, led the Ministry of Health to recommend the suspension of all end-of-year trips. Officials advised that groups of students who have not yet started the trips do not make them, because "the risk of transmission in the same environment where the cases are occurring is high". Even so, it is unclear whether the recommendation not to travel is only for Mallorca or for any destination. Health Dpt sources insist that the most important thing is to maintain security measures, given that the outbreak in Mallorca occurred in mass events.

The alert board also decided yesterday that those who have participated or are participating in the end-of-year trips to Mallorca will be treated as close contacts and, therefore, when they return they will have to take a coronavirus test - if it is negative, it will have to be repeated between 24 and 48 hours later - and spend ten days in quarantine at home. The ministry is also considering the possibility of screening people "related to these trips" who are now still in Mallorca.