The Cabildo of Lanzarote hosted a meeting this Tuesday in which the document 'Action procedure in the event of the detection of a suspected case of Covid-19 infection at the Lanzarote-César Manrique Airport and in accommodation establishments' was approved, which includes among its objectives to control as soon as possible a possible chain of transmission if any positive case is detected among passengers and tourists arriving on the island.
Action protocols
The aforementioned document contemplates the action protocols to be followed both at the Lanzarote-César Manrique Airport and in the island's accommodation establishments in order to detect passengers or tourists who present symptoms suspected of coronavirus Covid-19 infection, and in turn to identify the so-called "close contacts" of the possible positive case and try to prevent a chain of transmission from occurring.
Thus, it is established that if the thermographic cameras installed in the arrivals terminal of the Airport detect a high body temperature -more than 37.5º Celsius- in any passenger, they will not be able to access public areas or come into contact with other individuals and must be subjected to the controls established by Foreign Health. Likewise, the "close contacts" will be identified, that is, those people who have traveled in a radius of two seats around the affected person, as well as the flight personnel with whom they have had contact, in order to undergo home quarantine and a PCR test in the event that the positive in Covid-19 is confirmed. In order to be located, passengers from international flights must fill out a form indicating their place of stay on the island and telephone number, in case a subsequent tracing by the health authorities is necessary.
Regarding accommodation establishments, the document establishes that in the event that a guest presents symptoms, they must -as they will be informed upon arrival- request health assistance through the telephone number 900 112 061 of the Canary Islands Health Service, which will contact the establishment to coordinate the activation of the protocol and indicate the corresponding instructions. A health team will assess the need for the affected person to receive hospital care or undergo quarantine where they are staying or in another agreed establishment. Similarly, their "close contacts" will be identified, who will have to undergo quarantine and a PCR test in the event of confirmation of the positive.
"Undoubtedly, the recovery of tourism is an aspiration for the island's economy, but it can only occur under necessary health controls that allow both the local population and the tourists who visit us to feel safe, an objective in which we have been involved since the pandemic caused by the coronavirus was declared," said the president of the Cabildo, María Dolores Corujo.
For his part, the island's Councilor for Tourism Promotion, Ángel Vázquez, highlighted that the action procedure, inspired by the Ministry of Health's 'Strategy for early detection, surveillance and control of Covid-19', "is the result of the coordinated work of the Cabildo, the Lanzarote Foreign Promotion Society (SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote), the Lanzarote Tourism Federation (FTL), the Security and Emergencies Consortium, the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS) and the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), in collaboration with AENA", a public company in charge of managing the Lanzarote airport.
In addition to María Dolores Corujo and Ángel Vázquez, the meeting was attended by the island councilors for Security and Emergencies and Health, Francisco Javier Aparicio and Juan Manuel Sosa, respectively; the Deputy Director General of Security and Emergencies of the Canary Islands Government, Monsterrat Román; the island director of the Health Area, Noelia Umpiérrez; the manager of the José Molina Orosa Hospital, José Luis Aparicio; the Director of Nursing of Primary Care, Victoria Estévez; the coordinating doctor of the SUC, José María El Moga; the manager of Service Management for Health and Safety (GSC) of the Canary Islands Government, Elías Castro; the CEO of SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote, Héctor Fernández; the president of the FTL, Susana Pérez; the director of the Lanzarote airport, Juan Carlos Peg; the chief colonel of the Lanzarote Military Aerodrome, Nicolás Ramírez; the manager of the Lanzarote Security and Emergencies Consortium, Enrique Espinosa; the commercial director of Hospiten Lanzarote, Sergio Rodríguez; as well as representatives of the Civil Guard and the National Police.