Katherine Brook
THE Olive Press reported live from a beach on the Costa del Sol with an appearance on UK television news on Wednesday morning.
Editor Jon Clarke shared his insight into the Covid crisis and impact on tourism on the Sky News breakfast show on Wednesday, reporting live from his local beach in San Pedro, Marbella.
Talking to Kate Burley, he said that it’s ‘been great to see Brits coming back to Spain’ as quarantine restrictions were loosened this week for Brits returning from amber list destinations.
“We usually have close to 18 million British tourists coming every year but last year there were just one million,” he said in a live broadcast, alongside the Greek ambassador in London.
“There have been a few tourists dribbling in from Germany, France, and Scandinavia too, but it’s still not that busy.”
Talking about the infection rate in Spain, Clarke said: “Although the infection rate is creeping up, with Delta currently the most dominant variant, there’s no stress on the hospitals – at the moment.
“People are still being careful and we’re very grateful to be on the UK’s amber list [so we can continue to welcome tourists].”
Burley, who has interviewed Jon a number of times, also asked about the rising infection rates on the Balearic Islands, with the assumption that this has been driven by UK tourists.
“No, there are tourists coming in from all parts of the world,” he said. “And yes, rates have gone up. Indeed they’ve doubled. And they’re rising in the mainland too,” said Clarke.
“But despite rates going up, the key here is the health service.
“Almost 60% of the adult population is now vaccinated and those under 30 are now in the vaccination process.
“It’s mostly young people who are catching it at the moment, and thankfully, they seem to be fighting it off [with little or no need for hospitalisation, keeping the strain down on our healthcare system].”
This is the fifth time Olive Press journalists have been on Sky News this year, with as many appearances on the BBC and other global news programmes.
The 15-year-old English media group – which has over a dozen journalists and newspapers in six regions of Spain and Gibraltar – is consistently seen as the most reliable local news source by the UK media.
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