The Canary Islands Government has decided this Thursday to keep all the islands at the risk level they were already at, so Lanzarote and La Graciosa will continue at level 3. However, at the same time, the Governing Council has agreed to reduce restrictions at all levels, so that those of the immediately lower level will be applied. That is, in practice, Lanzarote will remain at level 3, but with the measures that were established for level 2.
“The report of the General Directorate of Public Health keeps all the islands at the same level, as the indicators of care capacity remain at high or very high risk”, the regional Executive points out, to explain why none has decreased. However, what the Health reports reflect is that only Gran Canaria and Tenerife are in that situation. In the rest of the islands, the occupation of hospital beds on the ward is at medium or low risk and in four of them the ICUs are empty.
In the case of Lanzarote, it is at low risk in hospital pressure; while in accumulated incidence of new cases it currently has the lowest in the archipelago, both at 7 and 14 days. In fact, it is the only one that has left the “very high risk” in both indicators and has moved to “high risk”.
With the criteria that were established at the time, Lanzarote and several other islands could have reduced a level, but Gran Canaria, for example, which is together with Tenerife at level 4, could not have done so. In any case, the "de-escalation" that the regional government has approved in parallel, ends up translating into a decrease of one level in all the islands.
“Despite the fact that the care pressure continues at high values, the continued decrease in daily cases allows each island to apply the measures established for the immediately lower level", the Government points out to justify this decision, which it defines as a "moderate and progressive de-escalation of restrictions".
The measure will come into effect from this Friday and, in principle, until March 10, subject to future revisions. "The flexibilization of measures to a level lower than that established in each island affects all activities and establishments subject to limitations due to the pandemic", they specify.
