Yesterday afternoon (Thursday) the Governing Council of the Canary Islands announced that Tenerife is moving to alert Level 4 after they had analyzed the main pandemic health indicators. They also stated that they are modifying some of the original measures, which means it will be much softer than when the traffic light system was created in the Canary Islands last September, which will have less of an effect on businesses and tourism.
Many countries, including the UK, are looking at implementing the use of ‘Covid Certificates’ for proof of vaccination for entry into events, sports facilities, and the interiors of bars and restaurants, and this is the main addition to the restrictions that were already in place.
Holidaymakers from the UK who are already vaccinated, have used the NHS APP to prove their vaccination status to enter the country, this will make no difference to them at all, as they can use that as well in this case too when already on the island. The same age limit applies as entering the island, which means that this will have to be shown by all people who want to access the interiors of premises and are over 18 years old.
For residents in the Canary Islands it is the EU Digital Covid Certificate which is all but the same thing that shows vaccination status, any Covid test results, and whether or not you have had, and recovered from, the virus in the last 6 months. The same age limit applies as for tourists, which means that this will have to be shown by all people who want to access the interiors of premises and are over 18 years old.
If you are not vaccinated and entered the island by having a PCR test for your holiday, you will need proof of test to enter interiors, but like entering Spain or entering the UK, it must have been done within the last 72 hours. However, this does not affect sitting on outdoor terraces of bars and restaurants in the sun or the shade as most people on holiday want to anyway, or entering to use facilities (with a mask on because it’s inside).
Two points that people are asking regarding this will be answered by Monday when the measure comes into effect are, will it be applied to interiors in my hotel, and can I go inside as I’ve only had one jab not two at the moment?
Regarding hotels, we expect the answer to be no it won’t apply. All during the pandemic when the islands have been in different levels, capacity restrictions and masks have been enforced, but when interiors of bars and restaurants have been forced to close, they have stayed open in hotels. Why? Because they know your vaccination status from when you checked in, and they already have your personal details for track and trace.
Regarding the situation of people who have only had one jab, this is something that we are awaiting confirmation of. Yesterday the announcement kept repeating ‘full schedule of vaccination’ which means either two doses of Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca, or the one inoculation of the Janssen single dose vaccine. The certificate is available at any stage and clearly shows if the holder has had 1 of 2 or 2 of 2 jabs or 1 of 1 in Janssens case, so we will wait to clarify this.
Will bars and restaurants be open when I come on holiday?
Yes. Bars and restaurants are allowed to open under the same hours and capacities as they were in the last two levels, although some haven’t decided to reopen yet.
The Governing Council said yesterday that closing time stays the same at midnight, interior capacity stays the same at 50%, the number of people stays the same at 6 (because proof vaccination has been shown), and outdoor capacity stays the same at 75% (no proof of vaccination needed outdoors).
Other places you have show proof of vaccination:
Proof of vaccination will also have to be shown by those who access the interior of sports facilities, including gyms, which are allowed to stay open to a capacity of 33%, which is another change as before they had to close in Level 4.
The certificate will also be mandatory to access cultural activities and events, including theatres and cinemas, which maintain the capacity as in Level 3 of 55%., with the correct spacing between people. The Canary Islands Government will publish the rest of the modified measures for level 4 in the next couple of days, and we will update you accordingly.
So, will Level 4 affect your holiday? No, not really, this is a taste of what will be the new normal in far more places than Tenerife. Enjoy the sunshine!
