The UK ambassador in Spain, Hugh Elliott, has given his opinion today (Thursday) on the Governments decision not to include either the Canary Islands or the Balearic Islands on their green list for travel yesterday, but added that it is possible in the near future there will be a different decision for both sets of Islands to allow British tourists to the archipelagos.
He said this during an interview on Cadena SER, collected by Europa Press, as when asked about the possibility of the archipelagos becoming green countries he said: "We made the decision to study the two archipelagos separately from Spain and, in this case, we have made the evaluation on their own data", while clarifying that, “after that evaluation, they made the decision based on their individual data as two sets of islands, to keep them on the amber list this time round.”
"In the future it is possible that there will be a different decision for one or both of the archipelagos in three weeks time depending on the evolution of the pandemic," Elliott added. Regarding the indicators that are evaluated to make this decision, he mentioned the accumulated incidence of the virus, the levels of vaccination and the evolution of the new variants of the virus, on which he has placed special emphasis. In addition, he emphasized that the most recent data is taken because there is a "very fluid exchange of information between countries.”
Regarding the case of mainland Spain, he recognized that the indicators are improving but that is not yet a reason to celebrate, as the levels are not yet low enough to enter the green list. He finished by saying: “We are aware that British tourists have a huge desire to return to all areas of Spain, and these desires are mutual, but we have to be cautious and sure that the time is right for it to happen.”
Ultimately, whatever your opinions are, the data for the Canary Islands isn’t yet stable enough at a low level to be put on the UK green list, as let’s be honest, no destination wants the same situation as Portugal are facing now.
