Spanish island relaxes Covid rules – with hopes that the rest of the Canaries will follow suit
LA Palma has relaxed its Covid restrictions just in time for half term - and there are hopes the other Canary Islands will follow suit.
The Spanish island has been downgraded from Level 4 Covid alert to Level 3, which will be welcome news to Brits with holiday plans.
The Canary Islands have been operating under Covid alert levels since the pandemic began, and during that time they have each been moved up and down depending on case numbers and hospital occupancy.
La Palma was moved from Level 3 to to Level 4 in January - alongside Tenerife and Gran Canaria - as authorities tried to reduce the spread of Omicron.
But La Palma has now been moved back down to Level 3, joining Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and El Hierro. Tenerife and Gran Cancaria remain at Level 4.
However, that could all change as has reported that "several islands" could be downgraded to lower alert levels in the coming days.
The president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, announced that authorities will “probably” approve the lowering of health alert levels “on various islands” within the next week.
A meeting is expected to be held tomorrow to decide which alert levels the islands will be moved to.
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La Palma is the first of the islands to be downgraded in recent weeks, and is at Level 3 which has more relaxed rules than Level 4 - the highest Covid alert level.
Under Level 3 rules, hospitality venues including restaurants and bars must close at 1am - an hour later than in Level 4 - and can operate at 40 per cent capacity indoors and 75 per cent capacity outdoors.
Groups of up to six people are allowed and public transport is at 100 per cent capacity.
Public events are prohibited indoors, but are permitted outdoors at 50 per cent capacity.
Brits with half term holidays plans to visit Spain must make sure they are up-to-date with the country's Covid entry requirements.
Spain is one of seven European hotspots that has put an expiration date on vaccine certificates, which could mean some Brits won't be able to visit during half term.
Spain will only permit Brits to enter if they can prove they have been fully vaccinated against Covid within the last 270 days.
The rules applies to all adults and to kids aged between 12 and 17, which might be a problem for families with plans to go to Spain during half term.
Thousands of Brits have cancelled holidays to Benidorm due to the strict rules in Spain.
However, there might be some holiday hope for families with plans to visit the Canary Islands, as rules banning unvaccinated kids could be eased to allow teens to enter if they haven't had both jabs.
Greece and Portugal are the latest countries to scrap the requirement for Brits to have a Covid test before entering, and France is expected to do the same in the coming days.
