Health keeps Gran Canaria at level 3 alert for covid

The Canary Islands Government, meeting in the ordinary Governing Council this Thursday, has decided to maintain the alert levels for islands that came into force on Monday of this week, has confirmed the Minister of Health, Blas Trujillo. In this sense, Tenerife will continue at level 4, at 3 Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and La Palma and Lanzarote, La Graciosa and La Gomera, at 2. El Hierro will remain at level 1.

Trujillo did not hide his concern about the percentage of occupancy of ICUs in hospitals on the island of Tenerife, "above 25%, which places it at a high risk level." He added that in the case of Gran Canaria, "the occupation of hospital beds is 3.75% and less than 10% in ICUs", but still we must not lower our guard.

The Government Spokesperson, Julio Pérez, showed, after the celebration of the Governing Council, its concern about the increase in cases -972 today- and also about the upward evolution of admissions in the ICUs of Canarian hospitals until reaching 90 patients in the last 24 hours. The curve of new infections in the fifth wave of the pandemic "grows less, but it is still very worrying in islands such as Gran Canaria, as is the incidence of the coronavirus in the Canary Islands in the age group under 50 years," said Pérez.

At the beginning of this week, the obligation to have a covid certificate to access the interior of the premises of restaurants, gyms and cultural establishments also began, which proves that the population has the complete vaccination schedule or, where appropriate, should show the negative result of a PCR or antigen test performed up to 72 hours before.

However, today Thursday, the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) suspended this obligation after the request of the Círculo de Empresarios y Profesionales del Sur de Tenerife paralyze in a precautionary way that measure.

The TSJC is based on the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, who consider that "data related to health are included within the right to privacy" to overturn the introduction of the new restriction in the Canary Islands.

Pérez said he did not understand why while hotels and airports request the COVID certificate to enter those facilities, the TSJC opposes the measure approved by the Government of the Canary Islands. "We understand the right to privacy that you are not injured when you ask to enter the premises of hotels, gyms and cultural spaces," said the spokesman for the Executive, who advanced that the Government will present allegations against the car that has suspended the requirement of the Covid certificate.

He clarified that "the decisions of the Government are replaced by those adopted by the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands." As it is not mandatory to have a covid certificate to access the interior of the aforementioned businesses, the car also suspends the total closure between 00:00 and 6:00 and sets the occupation inside the hotel and restaurant premises at 50% , both in level 3 and 4.

"In the Government we will continue taking measures based on health, the economy and legality," Pérez stressed.

See the press conference offered this afternoon by the Government spokesman, Julio Pérez, and the Minister of Health, Blas Trujillo, after the Government Council.