The President of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, has supported this Friday the creation of a 'health passport' that includes a Covid-19 vaccination certificate so as not to "repeat the mistakes of last summer and be able to reactivate tourism in summer with all the health guarantees".
In statements to journalists after attending the presentation of the submarine electrical interconnection project between the islands of Tenerife and La Gomera, he commented that he had already conveyed this initiative to the Secretaries of State of the European Union and Global Spain so that it could be launched when the vaccination campaign is deployed in all its intensity and the coronavirus pandemic is under control.
"We cannot repeat what happened last summer," he commented, giving as an example that there were countries that closed their borders, others asked for PCR or antigens upon entry, and some even decreed quarantines.
In his opinion, "it is the worst that can happen", so he has asked "humbly" the EU and the President of Germany, Angela Merkel, "to agree on a common framework" of mobility and that it also be transferred to other international territories.
The Canarian president recalled that his government requested it "from the first moment" and even launched a tourist decree to control travelers that "worked well", and now hopes that this 'passport' will finally go ahead and there will be no "wear and tear" in the negotiations.
"We all depend on tourism and people are eager to have enjoyment and leisure, they deserve it, also work," he said, without ignoring that there are still "hard months ahead" and we must "contain" the evolution of the pandemic so that "things get better" in the second semester.
Given the proximity of 'Easter', he commented that every time a holiday period approaches "the alarms go off" because free time increases and there are more family reunions, so he appeals for the imposition of "state rules" of control and also the "responsibility" of society.
Thus, he pointed out that they will be "demanding" and will move forward in making decisions to prevent the enjoyment of Easter from being paid for in the following weeks.
