Torres: Tenerife could move down to Level 2 restrictions this week

Tenerife could be moved to health alert Level 2 later this week and have restrictions reduced if coronavirus infections continue their downward trend, according to the president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, in a radio interview this morning.

In a live interview yesterday (Monday) on Radio COPE Canarias, Torres said that the Governing Council will analyze the epidemiological situation on each island this Thursday "and it may be that Tenerife will enter Level 2 from next Monday," and when asked if this was really possible, he replied "I hope so."

The island has maintained the harshest restrictions in all of the islands since mid-December, that have severely affected sectors such as bars, restaurants, and gyms, but if infections in Tenerife continue to decline, which have been below 100 daily cases in recent days, lowering from level 3 to 2 would mean the reopening of the interior of catering establishments and other businesses such as gyms,  the curfew would be delayed until 11pm, and meetings of cohabitants in public and private spaces would be allowed, although still with a maximum of four people.

Regarding the complaints of business associations for the measures adopted in Tenerife, the regional president has stressed that "they are not taken arbitrarily; they were agreed in the Inter-territorial Health Council for the entire country. Closing a gym or the interior of a restaurant has its cost, it is not done on a whim," he stressed, adding that "it is not a political decision, but a scientific one."

In addition, he recalled that the epidemiological situation is the cause of the application of the restrictions and, "if Tenerife had not had the bad data in November, we would not have closed the restaurants, but the measures are objective and mandatory."

In any case, Torres has promised to present "a set of measures and support for the affected sectors before the end of January”, but has warned that the rest of the public administrations, such as the Cabildo or city councils, can also adopt "complementary measures within their competence and not wait for us.”