The Canary Islands have requested to be allowed to pass into the final phase of the lockdown plan next Monday, and Lanzarote’s response to the Madrid flight carrying a Covid-19 sufferer has been held up as an example of how well-prepared the islands are to deal with the coronavirus.
Julio Pérez, head of the Canarian Health Council, has submitted a report on the health situation on the islands to the Ministry of Health in Madrid, which will form the basis of their decision to permit Lanzarote and the rest of the islands to join La Graciosa, La Gomera and El Hierro, who all passed to Phase 3 on Monday.
Currently , the Canaries has 185 active cases, with 5 patients in intensive care and no deaths have been recorded for five days. Lanzarote ‘s figures are even better, with only one new case in recent weeks (the man who flew from Madrid last Friday after testing positive). Dozens of daily tests carried out on the island have produced consistently negative results.
The Canarian Health Council told the Ministry “The Canaries have shown their control of the pandemic situation with rapid action in particular cases such as a study of contacts in contagions within the same family,and the case of the Covid 19-positive passenger who arrived at Lanzarote from Madrid.”
It is almost certain that, on this evidence, the Health Ministry will authorise the Canaries to move to Phase 3 on Monday. If all goes well the islands will leave the exit plan two weeks later, on the 22nd June.
Among other measures, Phase 3 permits meetings of up to 20 people, eliminates the remaining exercise time-slots for the elderly and allows shops, hotels and bars to increase their capacity. It is likely to be less dramatic than previous phases, when shops, large retailers and beaches were opened.
