Forced quarantine for 249 pupils in Spain, draws criticism

The forced quarantine of 249 pupils in a hotel in Mallorca, Spain, has drawn fierce criticism from the public.

The regional government on the Balearic Island, sent the pupils to quarantine because they were in close contact with others who tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Overall, there have been more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases reported among pupils on different graduation trips to Mallorca.

The 249 pupils were at the Hotel Palma, Bellver, which was rented by the government for the quarantine purposes.

Many protested on social media and with posters hung from the balconies of their hotel rooms, calling the move a “kidnapping’’.

Broadcaster RTVE reported that 64 of the pupils had tested positive for Coronavirus, and 185 negative.

Some of the pupils sent to forced quarantine had tried to leave the island, but most were intercepted by the Police.

A legal process had begun, with prosecutors arguing that the forced measure was illegal, according to local media reports.

A judge was expected to rule on the matter soon.

The more than 1,000 high school graduands, who tested positive for the virus upon returning home from Mallorca, were now in isolation at home, possibly together with thousands of close contacts and family members.

Many are said to have contracted the virus on the ferries to the island, as well as at parties in hotel rooms or at beaches, or at a concert in Palma.

Coronavirus figures have been rising again in Mallorca, with the current seven-day incidence rate of infections of per 100 people at 58.

The spread of the more contagious Delta variant in neighbouring Portugal has also been a cause of concern.