The Canary Islands Governing Council session of Thursday February 11th have agreed and approved extraordinary measures to help maintain controls over infection rates during what would usually be the Carnival period, particularly as the main week leading up to lent is about to begin, with Carnival Monday, MardiGras/Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday just around the corner in what would be traditionally the final finale week of Carnival de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria .

 

Extraordinary measures for Carnival period

The measures will come into force as of midnight on Friday, February 12, and last until the Sunday night before midnight on Monday, February 22. All the islands, are to move to a curfew between 22:00 & 06:00. The rest of the measures will depend on the level of alert. 

The measures approved today, which will be published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, punctually, to temporarily harden those already established for the Islands at alert levels 1 and 2, but they are deemed necessary to stop the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on the whole. The Archipelago is at a crucial moment in the evolution of the pandemic and in which it is necessary to preserve people’s health, the islands’ healthcare capacities and economic activity.

Arrivals to and Departures from the islands at Alert Levels 3 and 4

The agreement also contains an intensification of controls at ports and airports throughout the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands in order to avoid non-essential travel from or to any of the islands that are on Alert Levels 3 or 4.

As for regular public transport by land, both urban and metropolitan, passenger capacity is limited to 50% and surveillance of urban and metropolitan land transport will be reinforced at peak hours, in order to avoid crowds. At peak times, everyone is asked to avoid using public transport for non-essential or postponable journeys.

Parties, festivals and other popular events

Parties, festivals and other popular events are not allowed, which also implies the prohibition of convening acts, celebrations, contests or any other type of events that may encourage people to gather or that involve situations making compliance with general preventive measures difficult or impossible, such as crowds, or gatherings of more people than established for in each alert level, or anything that could prevent people from maintaining interpersonal safety distances or failure to comply with capacity.

All islands are to continue with their current alert level except for Tenerife, which has been lowered to a level 1 alert due to their infections rate having gone down significantly. The updated levels are to last at least until 18th of February, when the next evaluation is done.

You can find the latest COVID-19 data for The Canary Islands, updated daily, for mobile devices here, or a more feature rich version for desktop devices here

Here are the basic rules and regulations for Alert Level 3.

CURFEW 10pm – 6am
You are not permitted to move around in public at all between the hours of 22:00 and 06:00.
– Exceptions include : “justified trips”, such as for work, or going to buy essential items or medicines, or visiting healthcare facilities, and emergencies, including veterinarian care.

MEETINGS AND GATHERINGS: MAXIMUM 4 PEOPLE
Get togethers are limited, in both public and private spaces, to just 4 people.
– You can meet your friends or other family members either in private and public places but not more than 4 people together at a time, and you should not be intermingling with other groups.

HOSPITALITY, CATERING, RESTAURANTS, TERRACES, BARS AND CAFÉS
Hospitality establishments must close before 10pm. Only outdoor service is permitted, and at no more than 50% capacity, with a maximum of 4 people per table. No indoor service is allowed, whatsoever, though you can still use the toilets, however you must wear a mask whenever leaving your table.
–Exception: health centres, work cafeterias for staff and tourist accommodation for the exclusive use of guests staying at the accommodation.
You can pick up food and drinks on the premises and home deliveries are allowed too.
On terraces or in other outdoor spaces, dependent on the establishment, activities that fail to encourage the maintaining of interpersonal safety distances or not wearing masks, such as dancing, karaoke, etc. are prohibited.

SPORTS/ACTIVITIES
Only outdoor sports are permitted and up to a maximum of 4 people, including the monitor, if you cannot maintain a distance of 2 meters from everyone else. All indoor sports activities are suspended.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Public transport is limited to carrying 50% passenger capacity.
Mandatory use of mask. Eating, drinking or smoking is not allowed.

HOSPITALS AND SOCIAL HEALTH CENTRES
Visits to hospitals and social health centres are not permitted, except for the most necessary situations, at the sole discretion of the physician and the centre involved. Likewise, residents in centres for the elderly are required to remain on the premises, except in special cases.

TRAVEL
All flights and sea journeys, departures and arrivals, are restricted. Except for justified cause that occurs for any of the reasons contemplated in article 6 of Royal Decree 926/2020, of October 25. 
Tourist arriving from outside The Canary Islands, staying in registered hospitality accommodation, are permitted, so long as they observe all the relevant guidelines.

GAMBLING AND GAMING VENUES
All casinos, bingo halls and gambling games venues, as well as other similar recreational facilities for gambling and betting must close.

 

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