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Mallorca Global has asked several experts about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sebasti\u00e1n Cresp\u00ed, Margalida Gili, Marta Vall-Llossera, Pere Salv\u00e1 and Antonio Tarabini analyze different points of view of what we are experiencing from their own experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n Text: Jos\u00e9. E. Iglesias. Palma.<\/em><\/p>\n Sebasti\u00e1n Cresp\u00ed collaborated with the WHO in the preparation of health\u00a0protocols with which to operate with certain security in the tourism\u00a0sector. According to the infectious disease expert, \u201cthese\u00a0 protocols\u00a0have proven to be effective\u201d but the gradual recovery of tourism will go\u00a0through \u201cthe realization of health corridors in Europe and the performance\u00a0of tests at the entrances and exits\u201d.<\/p>\n For the Mallorcan scientist, prevention and control measures (frequent\u00a0hand washing, use of masks and 1.5 meters of distance) \u201care well\u00a0established\u201d and, in the social sphere -he says- we must avoid the 3 C:\u00a0\u201cclosed and poorly ventilated spaces, crowded and with many close contacts\u201d.\u00a0All of this \u201cshould be combined with effective testing and tracing\u00a0strategies\u201d and, at the individual level, with responsible behavior: \u201cthe\u00a0bulk of infections, perhaps 80% or more, could be avoided by complying\u00a0with the basic measures of mask and distance\u201d, he points out.<\/p>\n Cresp\u00ed recalls that the mortality rate of SARS-CoV-2 is much lower\u00a0than that of other coronaviruses that can cause serious\u00a0 infections such\u00a0as SARS, which \u201cbegan in China in 2002-2003 and lasted about eight\u00a0months\u201d, or MERS, which \u201cwas identified in 2021 as the cause of the\u00a0Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak\u201d. It is \u201cits great transmissibility\u00a0that has ultimately made it a far greater and unparalleled threat in\u00a0the last hundred years\u201d.<\/p>\n Margalida Gili highlights the importance of human behavior in infections\u00a0and considers that \u201cpsychology should join virology and epidemiology to\u00a0join forces and use knowledge about changing\u00a0 attitudes and behaviors to\u00a0help reduce transmission\u201d. So far, she adds, \u201cscientific psychology is not\u00a0playing the leading role it should play when it comes to contributing to\u00a0the reduction of viral transmission\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cFatigue, behavioral tiredness and sometimes reactance and the feeling\u00a0that it is intended to restrict individual freedom\u201d -maintains Gili- are\u00a0behavior patterns that can be predicted in the face of the restrictions and\u00a0uncertainty experienced these months, which \u201chave triggered a psychological\u00a0discomfort not only derived from the health situation but also from\u00a0the economic crisis caused by the pandemic\u201d, she adds. The feeling of\u00a0many people about the demand of the situation exceeding their ability to\u00a0adapt to so many changes is behind the symptoms they have developed.<\/p>\n Whether it becomes chronic or not, \u201cwill depend on many individual\u00a0factors\u201d, says the professor.\u00a0Asked about social tension, Gili maintains that \u201cpublic reactions to\u00a0the pandemic are contingent on trust, values, leadership, perceptions\u00a0of personal and collective efficacy, and social norms. As there are no\u00a0optimal conditions in this sense, as well as an approximate time limit,\u00a0the experience of this collective threat can produce negative social\u00a0consequences in which minority groups take center stage and experience\u00a0social problems in an antisocial way\u201d.<\/p>\n Lockdown has forced us to spend much more time in our homes,\u00a0which has caused us to \u201cpay more attention to the interior spaces we\u00a0inhabit\u201d, says Marta Vall-Llossera. In her opinion, \u201cwe need homes distributed\u00a0in a flexible way that allow us to work, study and live together.<\/p>\n Spaces of an adequate size, well lit, well ventilated, with good thermal\u00a0insulation and, if possible, with outdoor areas\u201d.\u00a0These needs are also transferable to any type of building and public\u00a0space: \u201cWe must work to create neighborhoods and cities that in an\u00a0orderly manner and with a global vision based on adequate technical,\u00a0urban, social, economic and environmental criteria, humanize cities\u201d.\u00a0\u201cWe are already talking -she adds- of 15-minute cities that avoid unnecessary\u00a0travel and have basic services available to everyone\u201d.<\/p>\n In order to achieve this, the dean of the Balearic Islands\u00a0 College of\u00a0Architects focuses on the need to bet on urban and housing policies that \u201cpromote urban rehabilitation, renewal and regeneration incorporating\u00a0improvements in accessibility, its adaptation to new ways of life,\u00a0work and leisure, etc.\u201d It is also \u201cthe time to incorporate new technologies\u00a0and materials that take into account the building life cycle, the\u00a0consumption of resources and the circular economy\u201d, she concludes.\u00a0Vall-Llossera refers to two challenges that the Balearic Islands\u00a0should urgently address: \u201cOn the one hand, the lack of affordable\u00a0housing, and on the other, the need to improve the energy efficiency\u00a0of the building stock\u201d.<\/p>\n The density of urban centers, where more than half of the world\u2019s\u00a0population is concentrated, \u201chas had an impact on the speed with\u00a0which contagions have spread\u201d, says Pere Salv\u00e0, who regrets that \u201cat\u00a0the time, when general welfare services became available, they forgot\u00a0that it was necessary for cities to be airy\u201d.\u00a0Trying to reduce their exposure to infection and in search of an\u00a0improvement in the quality of life, many citizens \u201chave returned to\u00a0Spain empty or emptied, with good communications for teleworking\u00a0and, in the case of Mallorca, with the advantage of that the distances\u00a0are very short\u201d, says the professor.<\/p>\n \u201cCOVID is going to give us changes in residential behavior\u201d, he\u00a0persists. \u201cThe population movement that took place in the\u00a0 eighties in\u00a0Palma towards semi-detached urbanizations (Marratx\u00ed, Bah\u00eda Grande,\u00a0Bah\u00eda Azul, etc.)\u201d will be repeated and \u201cthe more than 50,000 country\u00a0houses that until now were secondary\u201d will be transformed into the\u00a0main ones\u201d. \u201cThis wave of people who are already going to these\u00a0developments and residential sites -he concludes- will leave flats that\u00a0will be occupied by others who will come\u201d.<\/p>\n Salv\u00e0 mentions the need to recover \u201cthe desire for travelling, which\u00a0has disappeared. For us it is very important that people\u00a0 travel again,\u00a0because if we have to reconvert ourselves\u2026, there is no alternative. It\u00a0is very difficult to introduce other industries. What we have todo is to\u00a0control tourism in order to avoid environmental impacts\u201d.<\/p>\n Antoni Tarabini believes that the management and coordination of the\u00a0pandemic \u201chas caused real confusion and inefficiency\u201d, a situation that\u00a0has been aggravated by the \u201chypertension that dominates\u00a0 our public\u00a0institutions\u201d. Very often -he stresses- \u201ctechnical proposals are mixed\u00a0with partisan proposals creating real dysfunctions\u201d.<\/p>\n What the Mallorcan sociologist is clear about is that \u201cour infrastructures,\u00a0equipment and Public Health services have been insufficient.\u00a0The population registered is 1,210,750, and according to the INE, the\u00a0Balearic population will grow eight times more than the Spanish average\u00a0in fifteen years. The same can be said for other basic public services\u00a0such as education. Such deficits must be covered from an in-depth\u00a0review of the current Regional Financing Regime that seriously harms\u00a0our Community\u201d.<\/p>\n Tarabini warns that one should not make the mistake of trusting\u00a0that with the distribution of the vaccine the virus will be defeated and\u00a0we will be able to recover our tourist activity: \u201cThe vaccine will be able\u00a0to reactivate the market, although with more demanding parameters.\u00a0Changes are necessary in our tourism products; obsolete tourist areas,\u00a0complementary offer (from restaurants to tourist trade through recreational\u00a0activities, sports…)\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cHealth corridors with Europe and tests\u201d<\/h2>\n
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SEBASTI\u00c1N CRESP\u00cd<\/strong>. Biologist, WHO consultant\u00a0and infectious disease expert.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cScientific psychology is not playing the\u00a0leading role it should play in reducing viral transmission\u201d<\/h2>\n
![\"](\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Entrevistada-Margalida-Gili-catedr\u00e1tica-Psicolog\u00eda-UIB-150x150.jpg\")
MARGALIDA GILI. Psychology professor at the UIB.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cWe need flexible homes that allow us to work,\u00a0study and live together\u201d<\/h2>\n
![\"Decana](\"https:\/\/mallorcaglobalmag.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Decana-Colegio-Arquitectos-Baleares-Marta-Vall-Llossera-150x150.jpg\")
MARTA VALL-LLOSSERA. Dean of the Balearic Islands College of Architects.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cThere is a change in residential behaviour\u201d<\/h2>\n
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PERE SALV\u00c0. Human Geography Professor UIB<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cThe deficits force to correct the regional financing\u201d<\/h2>\n
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ANTONI TARABINI. Sociologist<\/em><\/p>\n