The Ministry of Health has informed of 114 new cases today in the Canary Islands, the lowest weekday daily total since the beginning of December, with 50 in Tenerife, 47 in Gran Canaria, 11 in Lanzarote, 6 in La Palma, and none in the other three islands. They have also reported of one Covid related death of a 48 year old woman in Gran Canaria, taking the total to 712 people that have died since the pandemic began.
Today’s figures could be the turning point in the epidemiological data that we have all been waiting for, for several reasons. Firstly the trend is that Monday’s have usually seen a high number of cases as they are lower over the weekend with reduced testing, as highlighted by the fact that the previous lowest day was 106 cases on Sunday 28th March. So to have 114 after yesterday’s 131 is a good sign that we could finally start to be seeing a downward trend in new cases, and from that, active cases too.
Secondly, the vaccination plan is now starting to move ahead quickly, with 70% of the over 60’s having received at least one jab already, and the opening of new mass vaccination points in Tenerife and Gran Canaria to cater for the increase in supply of vaccines from, particularly, Pfizer and Janssen to the islands.
Thirdly, as reported yesterday, the key to the incident rates coming down in time for tourism to restart is primarily down to Tenerife and Gran Canaria because of their population size, so the fact that Gran Canaria has already seen a reduction is one positive thing, but if Tenerife is now going to do the same, then we will see a rapid decrease to the levels needed.
Lastly, the timing is perfect for this to happen with the state of alarm finishing in 13 days time, which means that the regional Government will then be responsible for restrictions and health measures in the islands, which they can ‘tailor’ for the specific needs of the archipelago as a safe tourist destination, and only be governed the central Government on general measures, like the use of masks and social distancing etc.
It is however, important not to get carried away and let our guard down, as it is still too early to say whether this the ‘bending of the curve’ or a blip, even though this is the lowest weekday total since December 8th last year, so the signs are positive.
