Thanks to LANCELOT DIGITAL
The Canary Islands finally bet on the antigen test – The Executive appeals to its condition of delegated competent authority, of the outermost region, to the Statute of Autonomy and to the experience accumulated during 5 weeks with this formula
They had been warning for weeks of the urgent need that the Canarian tourism sector had to allow, once and for all, the use of antigen tests for the sanitary control of international trips upon arrival in the Archipelago, and finally the Government of the Canary Islands has finally given the definitive past to validate it.
And he has done it alone, given the lack of response from the central Executive in relation to this issue, and the evidence of a battered economy that was already playing the being or not being, the Government of the Canary Islands, after approving the Governing Council last Thursday this proposal was confirmed by means of a decree of the president, Ángel Víctor Torres, which will come into force tomorrow, after its publication today in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands.
It is a brave decision, but more than necessary to try to save what we can from the winter season. It should be remembered that the high price of the PCR tests, up to 150 euros, was preventing the arrival of tourists to the islands, since the tests were more expensive than the ticket itself.
Thus, starting tomorrow for access to the archipelago from abroad, PCR (RT-PCR) and rapid antigen detection tests are admitted as diagnostic tests for active infection by SARS-COV-2. its corresponding approval. The decree, which establishes the perimeter closure of the Autonomous Community, does not make it impossible for travelers to access it, but rather regulates a secure entrance with systems that are accessible and affordable.
This decree is based on the powers derived from the State of Alarm – whose delegated competent authority is the regional president -; in the condition of Ultraperipheral Region (RUP) that the Canary Islands have within the European Union; the Statute of Autonomy; the indications of the Public Health and microbiology technicians; and the accumulated experience with the tourist law decree that establishes the obligation to present an antigen test certificate or PCR with a negative result in regulated accommodation establishments in the Canary Islands.
In this sense, the pioneering system promoted by the Government of the Canary Islands has proven to be reliable, since during the last five weeks, in which around 250,000 travelers have arrived in the Islands, with very few cases of tourists who tested positive.
The Government of the Canary Islands maintains negotiations within the framework of an open understanding with the Ministry of Health to harmonize the regional standard with the national one.
In addition, progress is being made today in the regulations that will establish the controls of national travelers – in agreement with the Government of the Balearic Islands, – as well as of Canarian residents in peninsular territory who plan to return to the Canary Islands, especially on Christmas dates
