The announcement that Tenerife is moving to Level 3 has sparked political unrest on the island, particularly in Santa Cruz. The mayor of the city, José Manuel Bermúdez, has criticized the government for their decision describing it as "a hard blow for the economic sectors of the island and for the people of Tenerife who, the majority of, respect the health regulations".
The mayor added that “Many people, particularly in the south, are blaming the citizens of Santa Cruz for this move to level 3, which is tremendously unfair on the city, given that there are at least three municipalities on the island with some parts of their data worse than Santa Cruz, and others that are very close to it, as can be seen in the epidemiological report published by the Government of the Canary Islands today”.
He has also pointed out that “Santa Cruz is the island's capital, where 25,000 vehicles enter a day, and it is the origin or destination of more than 100,000 people who use trams or buses on a daily basis. We have taken measures, as many as or greater than other municipalities according to the levels, many of them that generate discomfort to our residents.”
Bermúdez explained that “When yesterday reading the statements of the president of the Cabildo, Pedro Martín, requesting that the hospitality industry doesn’t pay for this situation, we all thought they were going to pay attention to him. But it is plain to see that they ignored him, and that is a sign of the lack of leadership, for this and other issues, that exists in Tenerife. We will maintain support for the hospitality industry and express terraces while we are in this situation.”
He finished by saying: "Given this injustice, we have made the legal services of the City Council available to the hospitality sector if they see fit to carry out legal action against the Government in defence of their rights."
Closure of hospitality interiors is "shameful"
The spokesman for the Partido Popular and councillor of Santa Cruz, Carlos Tarife, has taken to social media to criticize the decision of the Canary Islands Government to raise the alert level for coronavirus in Tenerife, which from 00.00h on Saturday (midnight Friday night) will be at a red traffic light, Level 3, due to the data on the evolution of the pandemic on the island.
He posted: “I find it amazing that the government of Angel Victor Torres and Roman Rodriguez are closing the interiors of the hospitality venues in Tenerife. Shameful”.
The vice president of (AERO), Carlos Quintero, expressed his disappointment with the decision, after warning yesterday that this could lead to the final closure and bankruptcy of thousands of businesses, saying “The sector is very concerned and has called an urgent meeting. The restriction will take effect on Saturday, with which people who have reservations and have purchased stock don’t know now what to do."
AERO defended not eliminating the curfew, "The bars and restaurants are not to blame for what is happening, as we are the first interested in respecting the rules, we will see the repercussions that this decision will have, especially for establishments that do not have a terrace or home delivery service."
