In Friday’s Governing Council meeting, the Canary Islands Government entrusted the Ministry of Health to amend certain restrictions in alert level 4 for Covid-19, due to the advancement of the vaccination and booster campaign. The amendments have been made to certain activities depending on the age group they aim at and the vaccination coverage within that age group, the lowest currently being those aged between 20 and 39, including making closing times earlier at midnight instead of 1am.
This morning, Saturday, these changes have been printed in the BOC and come into effect in Tenerife when the island moves to Level 4 on Monday at 00.00H, which is midnight on Sunday night until at least midnight on January 24th, and as always are subject to constant monitoring and may be changed due to the evolution of the epidemiological situation of the island.
According to the BOC: “The measures that have been altered are fundamentally related to the capacity of certain establishments or activities, either to distinguish between open and closed spaces due to the different level of risk they pose, or because they are establishments or activities in which a lower risk of transmission due to its intrinsic characteristics or by the people who frequent them, or because it corresponds to establishments or activities in which the Covid Certificate is currently required for access to them.”
Capacity changes:
The resolution adopted this Friday, January 7, modifies the maximum capacity established in subsections a), b), c), d), e), f) and h) of section 1 of article 28 of Decree-Law 11/2021, of September 2. These capacities are now as follows:
- Hospitality: 75% in outdoor spaces and 33% indoors.
- Cultural activity (not considered a mass event): premises such as theatres, cinemas, music auditoriums, cultural centres, concert halls, exhibition halls, museums, or other facilities of a similar nature whose ordinary activity is cultural, such as that carried out in open-air public spaces, such as squares, parks or sports facilities: the maximum capacity allowed will be 75% in outdoor spaces and 55% indoors, with Covid Certificate and masks.
- Tourist accommodation common areas: 50% in outdoor spaces and 33% in indoor spaces.
- Commercial premises and professional services activities open to the public, common areas of shopping centres and parks: 50% in outdoor spaces and 33% in indoor spaces.
- Places of religious worship, wakes and burials: 50% in outdoor spaces and 33% in indoor spaces.
- Academies, non-regulated education centres and training centres: 50% in outdoor spaces and 33% in indoor spaces.
- Group size: In Level 4 it is established that groups of people in spaces for public and private use, closed or outdoors, cannot exceed 6 people, except cohabitants.
- Mandatory use of the Covid Certificate: This remains unchanged.
- Food and basic necessities retail establishments: The maximum capacity in these premises such as supermarkets and pharmacies is set at 75%.
- Public transport: For regular urban and metropolitan public land transport, the agreement establishes a capacity of 75%.
Regarding the discretionary public transport in passenger cars and rental vehicles with a driver, with up to nine seats including the driver, the maximum capacity will be 75%, except in the case of people from the same stable coexistence group. The row of the driver's seats may not be occupied by any other user. All occupants must wear a mask.
The adequate renewal of air through the opening of windows and the external air intake system must be used. The vehicle's air conditioning or recirculation function must not be used.
- Federated sports practice, regional or insular: The capacity and number of participants is also modulated for federated sports, regional or insular, outdoors or enclosed spaces and non-federated outdoor sports, which is allowed by ensuring the maintenance of the interpersonal distance of 2 metres whenever possible, with mandatory use of masks.
It is established that the number of participants in competitions will be determined by the regulations of the specific sports. In training sessions, the sport's capacity will be limited to 33%. The public capacity will be 50% in open spaces and 33% in closed spaces.
All other capacities are staying the same as previously decreed for Level 4.
You can see a full version of the BOC here: http://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/boc/2022/005/002.html
