Category: Government
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Latest Gran Canaria News, Views & Sunshine
Face masks will no longer be compulsory on public transport from 7 February
Masks will no longer be required on public transport, though they will remain necessary in healthcare establishments and services, and for workers and visitors attending healthcare and social care facilities.
Mogán town council assumes direct management of services on Playa de Mogán
The Mogán Local Council on Friday installed new sun beds and umbrellas on Playa de Mogán, beginning direct management of seasonal services of this popular beach, along with the other six beaches for which it now holds corresponding authorisations: Las Marañuelas, Costa Alegre, Taurito, El Cura, Aquamarina and Patalavaca. Since last summer they have also been in control of direct exploitation of Puerto Rico and El Perchel beaches. The majority of these coastal tourism enclaves were managed by private companies who held the concessions, some of which had been in place for decades.
The Canary Guide #WeekendTips 27-29 January 2023
Tenteniguada Almond Blossom Festival
It’s the last weekend of January and exactly two weeks to go until the 2023 Carnival season starts on Gran Canaria. This weekend will most probably be enjoyed with a drop of wet weather, Sunday being forecast as the rainiest. The southern tourist enclaves look to also see a bit of cloud cover and even a small chance of seeing a few drops of rain. However you look at it, it may be handy to have umbrellas and raincoats around during the days to come. There is even the possibility of some snow on the mountains as we head into next week.
More than half of all Canary Islands properties sold last year were bought by foreigners, more than half of those non-residents
While we still await final figures for the last quarter of 2022, the latest official data from The Canary Islands has shown foreigners are buying more homes in the Canary Islands than ever before. The number of real estate acquisitions by non-residents in the Canary Islands has risen 52% compared to the same period in 2021, and is already 16% higher than the highest ever record set in 2017.
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Cordial director says they will fight “illegal” decision to allow cement factory to continue in Port of Santa Águeda
The general director of hoteliers, the Cordial group, a member of the Las Palmas tourist association, Nicolás Villalobos, has described as “illegal” the decision taken by the Canarian Regional Government to extend the usage of the deep water port of Santa Águeda so that the cement company CEISA (Cementos Especiales de Las Islas SA) can continue to operate beyond its concession which expired last October. <!–more–>
The Canary Guide: Gran Canaria Public Holidays, Fiestas, Romerías and Celebrations for 2023
Gran Canaria and the Canary Islands share 8 official “bank holidays” with the rest of Spain. Following the publication of the Laboral Calendar in the Official State Gazette (BOE), the eight immovable holidays are:
April 7: Good Friday, May 1: Labor Day, (Monday), August 15: Assumption of the Virgin (Tuesday), October 12: National holiday, (Thursday), November 1: All Saints, (Wednesday), December 6: Constitution Day, (Wednesday), December 8: The Immaculate Conception, (Friday) and December 25: Christmas, (Monday).
Works on the new Soria-Chira hydroelectric project expand to the Soria Dam
The new Salto de Chira hydroelectric power station project broke ground this year, after nearly 2 decades of planning, with works now being prepared on the primary wall of the Soria dam (the largest in The Canary Islands) and its surroundings, where a spillway will be constructed to facilitate access via a service road to install elements such as water intake, the hydraulic circuit along with a secondary tunnel which will be installed.
#VoteLocal: Want to have your say? The deadline to register for next May’s local elections is January 15, 2023
Across Spain, municipal elections, to vote for your representatives in your local town hall, will be held on May 28, 2023. All EU nationals, legally resident, have the right to stand for election in their local council, and to elect the councillors whose job it will be to serve you and local interests, defend citizen rights and administrate local town hall funds to where they are most needed and useful for the the community.
Price of bus passes discounted 50% for all Canary Islands’ residents
The Gran Canaria Single Transport Authority (AUTGC) have been able to lower the prices of public transport cards (bonos) on the Island, thanks to a 50% subsidy from the Government of Spain for bus transport on Gran Canaria.
The state contribution was raised from 30% to 50% after the signing of a collaboration protocol carried out last Monday by the President of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, and the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, in the presence of the Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing, Sebastián Franquis, in Madrid.
“Thanks to this measure by the Government of Pedro Sánchez, which is going to allocate €24 million so that all citizens of the Canary Islands can acquire transport vouchers at half price, from 1st of September, in the case of Gran Canaria, at a cost of €10 for retirees and young people, and €14 for other residents, that is, they will be able to travel without limit throughout the island for less than €0.30 and €o.46 per day respectively. This is possible thanks to the effort that the PSOE has made to ease the expenditure of families and alleviate inflation. Mobility is the best social policy, it is a central policy of the action of the Government of Spain, the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildo de Gran Canaria”, stated vice-president Miguel Ángel Pérez del Pino adding that “curiously, those who say that the PSOE in Madrid treats the citizens of the Canary Islands as second class citizens, are the ones who had exorbitant transport prices during the 26 years they governed”, in reference to the right of centre regionalist party, Coalición Canaria, who have been critical in recent weeks that the Canary Islands did not benefit from the 100% reduction in train travel enjoyed by the rest of mainland Spain, on account of the archipelago having no train lines.
You can recharge your card at your municipality’s sales network (sale points by municipalities https://bit.ly/3cCObzg) and if possible not do it at the San Telmo Station to avoid crowds. In addition, you have the On-Line recharge available at https://carnets.gexco.es
Canary Islands recommend El Pajar Cement Factory continue to have use of Santa Águeda port for several more years
The Government of the Canary Islands set up a commission to examine the future of the port of Santa Águeda, on the south of Gran Canaria across the bay from Arguineguín, because the concession allowing the cement company to use the port is due to expire on October 22. The commission’s conclusions are that the port be temporarily shared between tourism and industrial use, at least until the factory can operate in Arinaga, some time in the future. Something that will take a minimum of 6 years to organise, and likely more than 2 years to carry out, if everyone can agree.
Canary Islands Government consider 7 visions of the future for El Pajar
The Canary Islands Government are considering up to seven different visions for the future of the El Pajar Port of Santa Águeda (San Bartolomé de Tirajana, in Gran Canaria), the concession for which is held by Cementos Especiales de las Islas (CEISA) at least until October of this year. The industrial cement company aspires to renew its permit to manage the deep water dock that it has held for the last 65 years, while various entities in the tourism sector are demanding the port be given over to recreational use, as it is located in one island’s most privileged areas of coastline, and yet has almost totally avoided tourism exploitation.
Gran Canaria confirms a monkeypox case and reports five new ones under study
The result of the samples from the second reported case is still pending. This Monday, samples of five more people have been sent to the National Centre for Microbiology, of which three have been classified as probable, because they meet clinical and epidemiological criteria, and two as suspected because they meet only clinical criteria. None appear severely affected
The Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, after receiving results on the first case in the Canary Islands reported to the Centre for the Coordination of Alerts and Emergencies of the Ministry of Health, last week, has confirmed the presence of monkeypox. The second case reported last Friday, on Tenerife, is still awaiting results of the sample that is being analysed in coordination with the National Centre for Microbiology.
The first two cases notified last week continue to develop favourably, monitored in isolation at home.
The protocol of the Ministry of Health classifies cases between probable and suspected depending on whether the patient presents only compatible symptoms (clinical criteria) or if they also meet epidemiological and laboratory criteria.
Probable cases: clinical and epidemiological criteria
The Canary Islands reported three other probable cases this Monday, all on Gran Canaria, corresponding to three young men whose symptoms are evolving favourably, following the process at home, except for one who has been admitted, based on another pathology.
According to the protocol, one meets clinical and epidemiological criteria established as a probable case, but is awaiting results of the analysis of the laboratory samples.
Suspected cases: clinical criteria
The General Directorate of Public Health and the SCS have also reported two possible cases having presented symptoms compatible only with clinical criteria, but not epidemiological or laboratory criteria, as stated in the protocol established by the Spanish Ministry of Health.
All these cases, whether confirmed, suspected or probable, have been reported to the Ministry of Health on Monday, as indicated by the protocols.
Monkeypox
Monkeypox infection is a rare disease that causes fever, headache, swollen glands and rashes on the hands and face, similar to that caused by Chickenpox. It is a well known pathogen, though very unusual, particularly outside of west and central Africa.
The virus has a low capacity for human-to-human transmission which would require close, intimate contact. The incubation period ranges from 5 to 13 days, although it can sometimes be as long as 21 days.
On May 15, the United Kingdom declared a health alert to the World Health Organisation, in accordance with international health regulations, after detecting the first four cases in Europe. This alert activated existing protocols in all health centres, including the Canary Islands Health Service, with the aim of early detection of possible cases.
131 cases so far confirmed and registered by WHO
The cases of monkeypox confirmed in recent days and weeks in non-endemic countries now rise to 131, with another 106 suspected, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported this Tuesday, indicating that the countries which have reported the most infections are Spain (40, at least one in the Canary Islands), Portugal (37) and the United Kingdom (20).
Cases have been confirmed so far in 17 countries, mostly European, although infections have also been identified in Pakistan (2), Israel (1), Canada (5), the US (2) and Australia (2) , the WHO announced during a technical session of the current annual assembly of the organisation.
The disease has been endemic for at least 40 years in West and Central African countries, and although cases had previously been reported in other regions, usually always linked to people who had traveled to the African continent, this is the first time that we have observed any such widespread an outbreak.
With the vast majority of cases having been linked to gay and/or bisexual men, the first time that sexual contact has been seen as a vector, caution is being widely advised, particularly for those who may have had close contact at the recent Pride events organised in Maspalomas. Community organisations, business owners and the local town hall are working with the regional Ministry of Health and the Spanish authorities to establish if extra safety guidelines need to be published, for the benefit of anyone who may have come into contact with potential infections. The focus is to break any chain of transmission that may have been present during the mass event attended by upwards of 25,000 people.
There is not thought to be any wider danger to the general population. Simple caution is advised.
Pride organisers silent as Ministry of Health investigates “probable” link to monkeypox in Maspalomas
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