Canarian president Angel Victor Torres has admitted that he sees it “difficult” for Lanzarote to leave Level 4 restrictions this weekend. Julio Pérez, the Canarian Government’s spokesmen, also announced that “we cannot see any changes that will permit a change of level on Lanzarote.”

A senior British health adviser yesterday told a committee of UK MPs that there was “very little evidence” of Covid-19 transmission outdoors, and none at all to suggest that transmission had ever occurred on beaches.

The appearance of a sinkhole near Los Hervideros and a landslide on the cliffs of Famara serve as a reminder of the constantly shifting nature of Lanzarote's geology.

It is now clear that Spain, the Canaries and Lanzarote have all passed the peak of the third wave of Covid infections that was caused by the Christmas holidays.

The Canarian Government has issued a yellow weather warning for calimas and high winds for today and tomorrow, as the islands see easterly winds from the Sahara desert.

Las Palmas province, which consists of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, currently has the best tracing record of all Spanish provinces. 82.8 % of all new cases of Covid-19 have been successfully traced to identified outbreaks of the virus – a figure high enough to be classed as “minimum risk” level.

The Canarian Government decided to keep Lanzarote in Level 4 on Thursday – the highest of its four levels that dictate curfew times, closing hours, maximum numbers of people in gatherings and other measures. But how is this decision arrived at?

No surprise yesterday, as the Canarian Government decided to extend the Level 4 restrictions on Lanzarote for another week, as well as introduce special precautions on all the Canary Islands to prevent gatherings during carnival week.

Last year, when lockdown rules prevented us from distributing the magazine, Gazette Life went exclusively online for three months. In the first of those digital issues, we ran a piece about a visit to one of the most popular sporting events on the island - the Bola Canaria Torneo de Abuelos Conejeros (The Lanzarote Grandparents' Canarian Bowls Tournament).

After witnessing the clear effect that Christmas and New Year parties had on the amount of Covid cases, Canarian officials are now addressing the next risk: carnival, and are unlikely to lift any of the State of Alarm measures affecting the islands later today.

Tías Council has introduced a “GuardianCovid” line where citizens can anonymously report any activities that increase the risk of coronavirus transmission.

Vaccination is the great hope of 2021 – the key to kicking Covid-19 out and returning to something approaching the normality we lived in until March 2020. Everything from major national economies to the ability to hug a loved relative depends on getting this right, and the Canaries seem to be off to a good start so far.

The Ayuntamiento of Arrecife is waiting for an official report from the Chief of Local Police before deciding on the future of two Local Police officers who can be seen punching suspects in a video that rapidly went viral on Sunday.

With gatherings currently limited to two people on Lanzarote, it’s no surprise that the carnival parades, which were due to start on 15th February in Arrecife, have all been cancelled. However, the Cabildo’s Casa Amarilla has just launched a virtual exhibition that celebrates some of the most iconic sights of the island’s biggest street party.