30th Apr 2021 @ 9:06 am

The Canary Islands were yesterday classed as amber (medium risk) on the European Centrre for Disease Control’s colour-coded map of Europe. This classification is hugely important for the prospective opening of travel corridors with other European countries.

The Canaries’ 7-day infection rate stands at 48, far less than half of the 14-day rate of 112, and this signifies good progress in the last seven days. The percentage of positive tests is just over 4%, one of the ECDC’s threshold indicators, and also falling.

Yesterday, Gran Canaria was placed in Level 2 after several weeks on Level 3, which will permit free travel between Lanzarote and its provincial capital island. Fuerteventura, meanwhile, appears to have controlled its spike of a few weeks ago, and its low hospital occupation permitted it to be placed in Level 1 yesterday.

Despite a few higher-than-usual daily totals of active cases in the last few days, Lanzarote currently remains on course for a reduction to Level 1, having almost emptied its hospital of Covid patients. Only one patient remains on the general Covid ward, while three patients are still in Intensive Care.

These indicators must remain low for 14 days before a reduction of level is considered, and current concerns on Lanzarote are focused on Yaiza, the only part of Lanzarote which has Covid patients over the age of 65, while Arrecife also provides a steady trickle of new cases every day.

For regular updates, pictures and videos of Lanzarote be sure to like and follow our Facebook page “Gazette Life Lanzarote”.