The president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, has participated this Sunday morning, May 31, in the twelfth telematic conference of presidents of the autonomous communities called by the head of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, to address coordination between these public administrations in relation to the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences.
The President of the Canary Islands affirmed, on the recent progress made within the EU for the financing of the revival plans by COVID-19, which from the Islands are considered “positive”, due to the fact that more has been wagered for non-refundable aid (500,000 million) than for loans (250,000 million). In addition, Ángel Víctor Torres stressed that the European Union has decided to prioritize in its reconstruction plans sectors such as tourism, trade and renewable energy “which for the Canary Islands are strategic, essential areas and where we are well positioned,” declared the president.
Today Torres has once again defended a special treatment for the Canary Islands due to its status as the outermost region (RUP), in the distribution of these Community funds and asked that the start of the delivery of the amounts that correspond to the Member States should not be made to wait because it is urgent. “There needs to be quick responses to recover the economy as soon as possible,” said the President of the Canary Islands.
In his presentation, at the meeting of regional presidents, Ángel Víctor Torres also insisted on the use of the remnants, the surplus, the need for transfers, the extension of the ERTE “and, in short, to have certainty as soon as possible.”
On the social side, the approval of the Minimum Vital Income in the Council of Ministers last Friday was applauded by the Canary Islands, “because it is a direct public support for the 48,500 families who are going to be able to benefit from this aid in the Archipelago “
Phase 3
As usual in these meetings, the head of the regional Executive took stock of health issues related to COVID-19 in the last week and highlighted, as has been happening in recent times, that the evolution in the Islands “is once again more favorable than the week before. “
Torres provided several updated records that confirm this, among which are those admitted to the ICU, which today are seven people, by 12 the previous Sunday; the number of hospitalized, which goes from 41 to 26 patients, and by the “hopeful” record of adding four days without deaths due to the coronavirus.
In this same part, the Canarian president insisted on the need for “constant vigilance” and recalled that it is key to continue doing things well that “maximum social activation” occurs, as must also happen with “social and collective responsibility “when complying with the established norms to control infections. Torres stressed that it is necessary to avoid outbreaks such as the one that occurred in Tenerife within a family group or other situations that “are not acceptable,” he said.
The President of the Canary Islands presented the main novelties that will be activated tomorrow in the islands of El Hierro, La Gomera and La Graciosa, with its entry into phase 3. Among these measures is the disappearance of the time slots for activities – including that of older people-, the increase in people who can gather in groups or the increase in capacity in shops, restaurants or theaters. “We want everything to continue to turn out well, as is happening in those islands, so that next Monday, June 8, the other five islands can also enter phase 3,” he said.
As for mobility between islands, the President of the Canary Islands recalled that from tomorrow there will be more connectivity “and the planes may have a greater presence of passengers on their journeys.”
Ángel Víctor Torres, has also demanded today that “all the mechanisms that are necessary to ensure that the gradual recovery of international tourism from July 1 be done with maximum health security”, as should also be the case with the rest of flights and mobility in general, so as to ensure that no positive can get on a plane.
To achieve that essential objective, Torres continued, “you have to do tests at source.” “We must find ways to make this happen,” an aspect in which the Canary Islands Government “will collaborate as much as necessary,” said the regional president, while calling for “all public and private efforts to be made.”
The Minister of Education signs the order regulating the end of the course
In relation to the return to schools and institutes, Torres referred to the importance of holding throughout June a monographic conference on the education of regional presidents and representatives of the central government so that a broad analysis can be carried out, with the aim of “agreeing on the essentials, the health prevention tasks and the new efforts to be made” with respect to the 2019-20 academic year and especially the following, 2020-21. The Canarian president also announced that the order of the Ministry that will regulate the end of the current school year is signed today. In this way, from Wednesday, June 3, students from 4th ESO and 2nd Bachillerato will be able to attend in person, and by appointment. As for the rest of the student body,
Pact for the Social and Economic Reactivation of the Canary Islands
President Torres also put the example of the Canary Islands on the table to seek the best way out of the health, social and economic crisis from the unity of action and welcomed the fact that public administrations, economic and social agents, entities of the Third Sector and Other public and private institutions, together with a large majority of the parties present in the Parliament of the Canary Islands (with the support of more than 80% of their deputies), have stamped their signature on the document of the Pact for the Social and Economic Reactivation of Canary Islands. The Canarian president highlighted the hard work of all these days, since March 16, with some fifty meetings with different agents and representatives, but stressed that “it has been worth it,” at the same time that he will continue to reach out to those parties they did not sign,
Finally, in this new appointment, President Torres took advantage of his speech to thank the President of the Spanish Government and the rest of the participants in the conference for the congratulations conveyed for the Canary Islands Day celebrated yesterday, Saturday, May 30
