The Canary Islands Government Council has decided this Wednesday to extend the opening hours of restaurants and bars on the islands that are at alert level 2, once it has renounced trying to maintain the curfew in the archipelago. In the case of Lanzarote, this will mean that bars and restaurants will be able to remain open until 12 midnight, when they currently had to close at 11pm.
In the meeting - which is usually held on Thursdays but has been brought forward to Wednesday for reasons of the Canarian president's agenda - the alert level of any island has not been modified, so Lanzarote will continue for another week at level 2.
Regarding the increase in its indicators in the last week, the government spokesman, Julio Pérez, has downplayed its importance, insisting that the evolution of the archipelago is one of "slight improvement". "Precisely because the pandemic is receding, there are incidents that are very visible", he pointed out. "On some islands there are very unique outbreaks and there is a day when a piece of data is very visible and can distort the general picture", he insisted.
As for the extension of opening hours for restaurants and bars on the islands that are at level 2 (Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote and El Hierro), he has linked it to the disappearance of the curfew. "The Government believes that it can facilitate permanence in enclosed spaces, so that in public or private spaces there is no temptation to break the rules", he explained, adding that compliance with the measures that are in force "is better controlled in an organised establishment".
"The control of the pandemic will depend much more on individual behaviour"
During the press conference after the Governing Council meeting, Julio Pérez also reiterated the decision that had already been announced by the President of the Government, not to finally appeal to the Supreme Court against the curfew measure, which was rejected by the TSJC. Thus, he explained that they will limit the appeal "to what refers to the perimeter closure of islands at level 3 and 4", which was the other measure that was not validated by the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands. "It is the one that has the most chances of success from a legal point of view", he stressed, pointing out that they have adopted this decision based on the reports of the Government's legal services and also of the Canarian Health Service.
In this regard, he pointed out that the perimeter closure, in the event that it becomes necessary again on some island, "cannot be replaced by alternative measures", while they consider that the same does not happen with the curfew. Specifically, he recalled that the control of opening hours, the control of activities, as well as the maximum number of people who can attend a family or social gathering, which is one of the restrictions that was endorsed by the TSJC, can continue to be applied.
"The positive effect may also be achieved through these other measures", defended the government spokesman. In any case, he warned that "from now on, the control of the pandemic will depend much more on individual behaviour and compliance with the rules than on radical imposition, as we have had until now".
However, he also announced that this Thursday they have scheduled a meeting with the police authorities and the representatives of the island councils and town councils, "so that control is reinforced on all the islands". In addition, he referred especially to the young population of the archipelago: "We hope they understand that the defeat of the disease depends on compliance with the rules".
