Lanzarote will remain at alert level 1 for another week and Fuerteventura climbs to level 3

Gran Canaria will remain at level 2, despite the sharp increase in infections, and Tenerife will continue at 3

July 15 2021 (18:59 WEST)
Updated in July 15 2021 (20:08 WEST)
The Government Spokesperson and the Minister of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands
The Government Spokesperson and the Minister of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands

The Canary Islands Government Council has decided to keep Lanzarote at alert level 1 for another week, despite the increase in Covid-19 cases registered in the last three days. "It is having an increase in cases, but very moderate, and has no hospital pressure," said the regional Minister of Health, Blas Trujillo, in the appearance after the meeting.

Only with the positives of these last three days, the accumulated incidence both at 7 and 14 days has already risen in Lanzarote from low risk to medium risk, and if the trend continues it will enter in a matter of days in high or very high risk, although for the moment it will remain at level 1 together with La Gomera and El Hierro.

La Palma, which was the other island that was at level 1, will rise to level 2, while Fuerteventura climbs to level 3, after several weeks with infections skyrocketing.

As for Gran Canaria, which has also had one of the largest increases in recent days, it will remain at level 2, and Tenerife will continue at 3, after having doubled in the last week the infections that it was already registering.

Regarding Gran Canaria, the accumulated incidence has already entered the maximum level of risk, together with Tenerife and Fuerteventura. However, Trujillo has argued that they have decided to continue at level 2 because although it has had "a very significant exponential increase" in recent days, "other indicators such as positivity and occupation of the ICUs make the overall balance very different from that of Tenerife."

On that island, hospital pressure has already begun to rise and ICU occupancy is at high risk, with 20.12% of Covid patients, while in Gran Canaria it is at 2.67%. However, the occupation in Fuerteventura is even lower, which this Thursday does not even have patients in the ICU -the occupation on the floor is 1.45%-, but nevertheless it has risen to level 3.

Asked if the capital islands are being treated differently, considering also how long it took to make the decision to raise Tenerife to level 3, the counselor has denied it and has referred to the accumulated incidence data. And it is that although these three islands are at the same level of risk -the highest of those established since the beginning of the pandemic-, not all have the same figures. The accumulated incidence at 7 days in Tenerife is 220.12, in Fuerteventura it is 176.23 and in Gran Canaria it is 138.63. In this indicator, the very high risk starts from 125 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Trujillo has also expressed his concern about the increase in the number of tests that are positive for each PCR that is performed, which this Thursday is in Tenerife at 11.17%, in Fuerteventura at 8.48% and in Gran Canaria at 8.36%.

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