The Government of the Canary Islands has approved a decree-law stating that tourists must provide a negative Covid-19 test to stay at accommodation on the archipelago.
Either PCR or antigen tests will be allowed as proof visitors are Covid-free, as long as they comeback negative and are taken within 72 hours of arrival, states the decree – which comes into force on November 14, ten working days after it was passed.
Those aged six and under do not need to provide a negative test to enter the Canry Islands, which were granted a travel corridor by the UK government last week.
The legal document, now approved by the autonomous region of Spain, have been designed to regulate the spread of Covid-19 on the islands, which have a lower rate of infection than the Spanish mainland.
It makes the Canary Islands the first Spanish region to require tourists to perform a diagnostic test, which can be carried out in their place of origin or in spaces made available to them prior to entering tourist accommodation.
The Canary Islands is currently the only area of Spain without a 10pm curfew. Wearing of face masks is mandatory on the islands.
Canary residents will be exempted from having to present a negative test if they have not left the Canary Islands 15 days prior to their arrival to tourist accommodation. Non-Canary Islands residents will also be exempted if they can prove they have not left the islands in the last 15 days before arriving at tourist accommodation.
Tourist accommodation providers have the responsibility to verify tests, and are obliged to tell guests where tests can be taken if they arrive without sufficient documentation. They must, by law, deny access to any tourist who arrives without a negative Covid-19 test.
Documentation verifying a negative test result must state the date and time of the test, the identity of the tourist, and the laboratory responsible for the diagnosis.
In the event that a tourist is diagnosed as carrying Covid-19, public administrations in the Canary Islands will arrange ‘suitable accommodation’.
The UK government opened up a travel corridor to the Spanish archipelago last week, prompting a surge in bookings for wintersun holidays.
Tour operators and airlines added capacity to the Canaries to cater for the spike in demand.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against non-essential travel to mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands.
Furthermore, on October 25, the Spanish government declared a nationwide state of emergency which includes a national obligatory overnight curfew. The Canary Islands are currently exempt from the curfew.
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