The Governing Council has approved this Thursday the agreement establishing a set of specific measures for the celebration of the upcoming Christmas holidays in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, which aims to contain the spread of the covid pandemic.
According to this agreement, the maximum number of people in social and family gatherings taking place in public and private spaces, indoors or outdoors, will be limited to six people, unless they are cohabitants, meaning those people who reside in the same home. Exceptionally, the agreement sets a maximum number of 10 people attending family or close friends gatherings to celebrate Christmas meals and dinners on December 24, 25 and 31 and January 1 and 6, unless they are cohabitants. In all cases, children aged 0-6 are excluded from the calculation of these groups.
The recommendation is that these meetings be composed of members belonging to the same cohabitation group or not exceeding two cohabitation groups, in which special care should be taken with people in vulnerable situations.
The approved measures will be applicable the day after their publication in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC) and until Sunday, January 10, without prejudice to other more restrictive measures that are in force or that could be adopted in certain islands, as a result of the epidemiological situation, which will be evaluated weekly.
Circulation of people at night
Another measure of the agreement is the limitation of the freedom of movement of people at night, from 1.00 am to 6.00 am between December 23, 2020 and January 10, 2021, except for the performance of essential activities included in article 5 of Royal Decree 926/2020, of October 25, which declares a state of alarm to contain the spread of infections caused by SARS-CoV-2. On the nights of December 24 to 25 and December 31 to January 1, the restriction schedule starts at 1.30 am and remains until 6.00 am.
These essential activities include the acquisition of medicines, health products and other essential goods; attendance at health centers, services and establishments; attendance at veterinary care centers for emergency reasons; compliance with labor, professional, business, institutional or legal obligations; returning to the usual place of residence after performing some of the activities indicated above, or assisting and caring for the elderly, minors, dependents, people with disabilities or especially vulnerable people, among others.
Specific measures
The agreement includes specific measures for the hotel and restaurant industry, such as the complete closure of establishments before 24.00 (except on islands with greater restrictions due to their pandemic situation), the maximum occupancy per table of six people and the distance between chairs of adjacent tables of at least two meters.
Regarding large events, it is established that parties, festivals and other popular events that involve agglomeration of people or displacement of participants that cannot be controlled, such as parades in their classic format, parties and New Year's Eve parties, cannot be held. Any other mass event will be subject to prior authorization.
Activities such as visiting nativity scenes or the Three Wise Men may be organized, provided that there is a delimited space where access and capacity can be controlled, in order to guarantee the maintenance of interpersonal safety distance, the use of masks and other general preventive measures. They should preferably be outdoors.
Religious celebrations
Regarding emblematic religious celebrations, such as Midnight Mass, they may be held taking into account respect for the schedules that limit freedom of movement. It is recommended to offer telematic or television services as an alternative, as well as to avoid songs and physical displays of devotion or tradition (kisses, contact on images, sculptures, etc.), replacing them with others that pose a lower health risk.
Greater use of public roads
In coordination with local entities, it is recommended to favor a greater use of the public road outdoors so that there are more spaces available for citizens, as well as for cultural events, activities for children or for the hotel and commerce industry, always respecting the provisions above in relation to the celebration of Christmas events with a high influx of public.
Another of the recommendations of the agreement for the population is to organize purchases in advance to avoid large crowds in streets and shopping centers, in which compliance with the interpersonal safety distance and the use of masks will be guaranteed at all times and in all spaces, both in the sales premises and in the transit spaces and in the commercial streets.
Social and health care residences
The agreement also establishes that the Ministries of Health and Social Rights will jointly establish specific preventive measures in relation to the departures of residents of social and health centers during these dates.
In any case, it is recommended that, when residents of social and health residential centers make a longer stay due to the Christmas celebrations, these should be restricted to a single home and maintaining a stable cohabitation bubble. Upon their re-entry, an active infection diagnostic test must be performed and the days after re-entry, surveillance and prevention measures will be stepped up.
Students and other returned residents
Both students and other Canarian residents who return to the Islands are recommended to limit social interactions for the 10 days prior to the trip and take extreme prevention measures upon arrival.
