The president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, assured this Monday that his Executive will take all kinds of measures to control the coronavirus figures, trying to avoid new lockdowns, because they would generate a "tremendous poverty" and other "health problems."
For Torres, it is "obvious" that if a lockdown is decreed, the coronavirus figures will be better in 15 or 20 days, but he stressed that "there would be people who would have health problems with the lockdown" and that "the economy would go down the drain."
"We would have tremendous poverty effects. That is why we must make it possible for there to be some normal economic activity and for us to live a normal life with the coronavirus emergency until the vaccine arrives," he stressed in an interview on Cadena Cope in the Canary Islands collected by Europa Press.
In any case, the president did not rule out anything and said that there is always a possibility of lockdown when the figures exceed 600 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. "There would be a technical proposal and a decision would be made," he asserted.
The Canarian president defended that until now the Islands have acted in a "proportional and according to the circumstances" and that the "key" right now is the "compliance" of the approved rules with "responsibility" because, he explained, now the problem with nightlife has been replaced by that of family and friends environments.
Arrival of immigrants
Regarding the arrival of immigrants to the Canary Islands, President Torres said that he has spoken with the Government Delegation and with the Ministry itself to know in detail "and in writing" what the surveillance of the coasts of the Islands is.
Torres has been explained that what has allowed the arrival to beaches in recent days of some boats is that they "camouflage themselves as fishing and it is more difficult for the Moroccan Gendarmerie" to intercept them.
In any case, the president said that with the Health data in hand "there has been no contagion" of coronavirus "with any immigrant" because a strict protocol is applied. And that when they have arrived without control, their search is also carried out to proceed in the same way.
The ERTE and the tourist winter
Regarding the Temporary Employment Regulation Files (ERTE), which have allowed to avoid higher unemployment figures throughout the country, clouds arise from September, starting with their continuity, something that the president is "convinced" that will be achieved, and secondly by the decrease in salary to be received from the sixth month, when those affected go on to collect 50%.
For the president "it is not fair that after 6 months in ERTE salaries go down and being in ERTE you earn less than in ERE". Thus, he defended that the Canary Islands is precisely one of the regions that "most needs" due to its island condition.
For the president there has hardly been any tourism because "there is fear" and because the countries of origin are also suffering and seeing how to face the pandemic, but he stressed that "undoubtedly" they are working together with the central Government to give the best possible figures in the winter season, which is high season for the islands.
Of course, he stressed that if someone thinks of "figures from previous years" this is now "impossible." Regarding the security measures in ports and airports, he detailed that they continue working to achieve the "maximum control", not renouncing to the PCR tests at origin or destination, given the insular consideration of the Canary Islands, for which he said he expects a "favorable response."
