Thanks to LANCELOT DIGITAL – The PCRs for national travelers arriving in the Canary Islands have been extended until February 15th
The Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands extends two more weeks, until midnight on February 15, to carry out screening to contain the transmission of SARS-COV-2, through diagnostic tests for active infection (PDIA) to passengers who enter the Canary Islands from the rest of the national territory, by air or sea. This extension was published on Friday in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC).
Between December 18 and January 26, a total of 140,713 passengers from other Spanish regions arrived at Canarian airports. All of them had to go through the control point set up by the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS) in the six airports that operate with domestic flights, in which they had to certify a negative result in a PDIA carried out no later than 72 hours before your arrival at the airport.
Of these 140,713 passengers, 85% provided a negative PDIA certificate upon arrival. The remaining 15% who did not provide a negative PDIA certificate had to remain in isolation until a negative result was obtained from a diagnostic test performed at destination. Passengers residing in the Canary Islands who arrived without PDIA made at origin were given the possibility of making an appointment through the telephone line 900 112 061 to carry out the test free of charge, while non-residents were provided a list of laboratories authorized by the SCS in which to carry out the PDIA within 72 hours after arrival.
448 positive cases detected in this device
The number of resident passengers who traveled with PDIA until this January 26 and took the test in one of the laboratories of the network agreed by the SCS was 28,271, among which 302 positives were detected (254 by PCR and 48 by test antigens).
In addition, those residents who traveled to the Archipelago without PDIA made in origin, had to do it when they arrived in the Canary Islands. 126 positives were detected in these passengers.
On the other hand, among the non-residents who arrived in the Canary Islands in that period of time, 20 positives were detected at origin (10 by PCR and another 10 by antigen test).
When a passenger arrives in the Canary Islands from another region of the national territory, they must deliver a negative PDIA certificate at the checkpoints established for this purpose by the Ministry of Health at the Canarian airports that receive domestic flights. Travelers carrying out airport transfers between islands must go to the control of the first airport where they disembark to present their negative diagnostic test certificate.
Travelers who did not present the certificate, or that it was not validated, are identified, registered and are summoned to perform isolation until a negative result of a diagnostic test at destination is obtained.
The diagnostic tests for active infection admitted, at the passenger’s choice, are:
– PCR (COVID-19 RT-PCR).
– Rapid detection tests for SARS-CoV-2 antigens with a specificity of more than 97% and a sensitivity of more than 80%, according to the corresponding approval of a country of the European Union or the European Economic Area.
– Transcription Mediated Amplification (TMA).
Free trial
The Ministry of Health recalls that the diagnostic test, both at origin and destination, will be free for travelers residing in the Canary Islands who come from the rest of the national territory and carry out the test at the Eurofins Megalab centers arranged by the Canary Health Service for such an effect. In the remaining cases, the passenger will bear the cost of carrying out the PDIA, which will have a special price in the centers arranged by the SCS.
Proof of the test
The documentation supporting the test must be the original, written in Spanish, in paper or electronic format and must indicate the traveler’s name, passport or ID number, date of the test, identification and contact details of the authorized health center who performs the test, technique used and negative test result. In the case of antigen tests, it must also reflect the homologated specificity and sensitivity.
The interested parties or the laboratories, with the express authorization of the interested parties, will send the analytical results electronically to the Canary Islands Health Service, at the address pdiasviajes@gobiernodecanarias.org , prior to their arrival in the Canary Islands. In the cases of express authorization for data processing, the submission of the results will be the obligation of the laboratories. In the cases in which said express authorization is not granted, the submission of the results will be the obligation of the interested parties, who must send the supporting documentation of the test to the indicated email address, stating in the subject of the email the number flight or crossing and the date of arrival of the same.
Request for the result at destination
The Ministry of Health has a Covid-19 control point operation in the six Canarian airports that operate with domestic flights in which the accreditation of the PDIA result is requested. In the exceptional event that the passenger has not performed the PDIA in the 72 hours prior to arrival, they must isolate themselves at their residence and carry out a PDIA within 72 hours of arrival, and the result must be sent to the SCS. The isolation must be maintained until obtaining and remission of a negative diagnostic test or, where appropriate, epidemiological discharge.
Those who do not perform the PDIA, must keep isolation in their residence for 10 days and are exposed to the sanction provided. Travel agencies, tour operators and air or maritime transport companies and any other agent that markets tickets must inform passengers, at the beginning of the ticket sales process for the Canary Islands, of the obligations derived from the Order. .
Make an appointment at origin
It is recalled that the SCS has signed an agreement with a network of laboratories with 68 locations throughout the national territory and an appointment must be made to carry out the test at the laboratory closest to the address where you are going to go or at 911 087 080. The traveler must present at the time of the test the printed supporting documents (proof voucher downloadable on the web, photocopy of the DNI or residence certificate and photocopy of the receipt of the flight to the Islands)
Travelers residing in the Canary Islands can consult the list of laboratories with addresses and telephone numbers and download the free test voucher on the web:
