The Canary Islands Official Bulletin ( BOE) on Tuesday in an extraordinary issue published two decrees from the President of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres:
- The conditions for the provision of inter-island maritime transport and measures for the control of people who travel by air or sea in the Canary Islands, to ensure the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic,
and another on - The non-reopening of nightclubs and nightlife bars to the public.
Both decrees were approved following a proposal from three departments of the Canary Islands Government: The departments for Health, Public Works, Transport and Housing, and Public Administrations, Justice and Security to regulate these activities in Phase 3 of the Canary Islands de-escalation.
Inter-island maritime transport
The decree establishes inter-island maritime connectivity conditions in the Canary Islands and maintains the maximum number of daily routes and frequencies per direction that shipping companies can carry out.
- Three daily round-trip frequencies are established between Agaete and Santa Cruz de Tenerife;
- 2 between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Morro Jable;
- 1 between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Arrecife;
- 4 between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife;
- 4 between Corralejo and Playa Blanca;
- 4 between Los Cristianos and San Sebastián de La Gomera;
- 2 between Los Cristianos and Santa Cruz de Tenerife;
- 1 between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Puerto del Rosario;
- 1 between Los Cristianos and Valverde; 4 between Caleta de Sebo and Órzola.
Passenger control
Regarding passenger control measures to guarantee the protection of public health, people who move by air or sea between islands must undergo two types of control:
Control of the reasons for the movement will affect people who travel by air or sea to the Canary Islands from airports or ports outside the Archipelago. The reasons must be aligned with some of the assumptions contained in the March 14 Royal Decree declaration of the State of Emergency: assistance to health centers, services and establishments, travel to the workplace to carry out their work, return to the place of habitual residence, assistance and care for the elderly, minors, dependents, people with disabilities or especially vulnerable people, visits to financial and insurance entities, due to force majeure or need, or to guarantee the supply of goods and services to the population.
Passengers must make a statement of responsibility about the reason for their journey which will be collected and preserved by airlines and shipping companies. Passengers who do not comply with the obligation, to complete the responsibility declaration, or whose reasons do not comply with those stipulated, will be identified and their identity communicated to the Canary Islands Government General Directorate of Security and Emergencies, which will adopt appropriate measures.
Temperature control .- will affect people, both passengers and crew members, who move by air or sea, whether on routes between islands or from abroad. In the case of trips from abroad, temperature control will be carried out at the airport or port of arrival, during inter-island transfers, control will be carried out at the airport or port of departure, before proceeding with boarding.
In those cases in which there are no thermal imaging cameras, the temperature taking will be carried out by specific teams of professionals that will be made available by the General Directorate for Security and Emergencies. The managers of the airport or port will facilitate the performance of these teams and so that it is carried out in accordance with the instructions of the health authorities.
In addition, those responsible for the airport or port will provide these teams with the activation of the appropriate protocols in the event that a person with a fever is detected, as well as the communication to the health authorities of any incidents that may occur.
The taking of temperature will be carried out on all people regardless of their age and physical condition, respecting their privacy as much as possible and avoiding physical contact, it will be carried out with thermometers without body contact and duly approved. This control will be carried out in an area of the airport or port suitable for it and that causes the least inconvenience and always before leaving the premises.
For temperature control, a suitable space will be enabled, in a roofed and isolated place from the other areas of the airport or port and large enough to avoid agglomerations while waiting, so that the safety distance of 2 meters between people can be kept. . The people in charge of carrying out this temperature taking will have the qualification and the appropriate protective equipment.
In the event that a person with a fever or another of the symptoms of COVID-19 is detected, it will proceed according to the established health protocols.
Decree on the reopening of nightspots and nightclubs
Tuesday’s extraordinary BOC was published including a further decree from the President of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, establishing the non-reopening of discotheques and nightlife venues to the public.
Torres stated on Sunday, that during phase 3, nightlife venues would not open in the archipelago due to their posing “special risk”. During the press conference following the thirteenth video conference meeting of regional presidents during the continuing emergency, he explained that this is a decision motivated strictly by sanitary health criteria.
“The closed spaces” he said “are, at certain times like the present, places of high risk [requiring] different autonomies, [this is happening] not only on the Canary Islands, but also the Balearic Islands and Extremadura, [all of which] will leave the opening of these spaces for a next phase.”
Torres asked for understanding based on the fact that the most serious outbreaks in South Korea were at night spots and when the de-escalation was well advanced. “… they should wait a little longer,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, from Tenerife, it is being reported that a group of nightlife sector entrepreneurs have been “surprised and disappointed” with the Canary Islands Government. Saying in a statement that they do not understand “being one of the communities in Spain that has suffered least from coronavirus, the opening of this sector is blocked by the Government of the Canary Islands ”.
The statement went on to say that “we feel that Ángel Víctor Torres as President of the Autonomous Government, is completely forgetting about the more than 1,300 companies that exist in the Canary Islands dedicated to nightlife and the more than 10,600 employees that make up this sector.”
They add that, by keeping premises dedicated to this sector closed, “they are” promoting “drinking at beaches and parks, as has already been seen in some media and private parties in villas and houses.”
