New traffic laws mean that motorists must now leave a minimum of two metres of distance between cars and cyclists, and the maximum speed of overtaking is 20 kph less than the speed limit for the road in question.

Four cases of the so-called UK strain of the SARS -CoV-2 virus have been detected on Lanzarote, after genome sequencing was carried out on 7,329 positive test samples at Tenerife's university Hospital.

The European Commission (EC) has recommended isolating all areas with a 14-day infection rate higher than 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. This criteria would currently apply to Lanzarote, but not the Canary Islands as a whole.

The Canaries and Lanzarote passed three sad milestones yesterday, as the third wave of the pandemic continues to hit Lanzarote harder than the other islands.

An outbreak of Covid-19 in the Internal Medicine ward of Lanzarote Dr. José Molina Oroso Hospital has stretched resources at the hospital to the limit.

The number of new cases once again broke the hundred mark yesterday as Lanzarote registered 112 new cases. With 82 recvoeries, this brings the overall total of cases on the island to 978.

Lanzarote and La Graciosa will be the first islands to be placed in Level 4 after the Canarian Government yesterday decided that stricter measures were required in order to deal with the continued rise in Covid-19 cases on the island. The new restrictions will apply from midnight tonight, Friday 22nd January.

The arrival of five pateras (fishing boats) containing 130 migrants over the last few days has caused Oswaldo Betancort, the Mayor of Teguise and Deputy in the Canarian parliament, to demand an “honest assessment” of the situation from the Canarian Government.

Comments by Arrecife’s tourist councillor have raised questions about the Level 3 rules which Lanzarote is currently experiencing, with the closure of the island turning out to be far less strict than it appears at first sight, and mixed messages on what constitutes gatherings.

As the rate of new infections on Lanzarote appears to slow down, there is cautious hope that the worst of the Christmas boom in infections may be over.

As Lanzarote registers its first Covid deaths since September, recent increases in the amount of Covid cases on Lanzarote have increased the number of patients hospitalised by the virus tenfold in the last few weeks.

The Canarian Health Service has vaccinated almost 40,000 people in recent weeks, as the vaccination programme targets the most vulnerable members of society and health workers.

There is now very little doubt that the third wave on Lanzarote is almost entirely due to Christmas parties. The Mayor of Tías, Juan José Cruz, criticised the “irresponsibility” of local families who had been holding parties of 40 or 50 people over the holidays.

Lanzarote is now on Level 3 - the maximum level of the Canarian Government’s three tiers of anti-Covid measures. Yesterday's decision by the Canarian Council of Ministers had been expected and followed the announcement that the island has seen 124 new cases - the highest daily total ever. This figure took Lanzarote to 609 cases overall, another record for the island.