The original statement was that if there were not tests made at origin they would be made upon arrival in the Canary Islands, Torres now affirms that the community "has no power" to implement them, although he has assured that they will try "until the last minute" to have that authorization from the State.
The President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, who has been demanding for weeks that Covid-19 tests be carried out on tourists in origin before travelling to Spain, has recognized this Monday that this "will no longer be possible", as he has not reached an agreement within the European Union. In addition, regarding the announcement that if this objective was not achieved, it would be the Canary Islands who would do these tests at destination, Torres has admitted that it will not be carried out.
In this regard, he has stated that the autonomous community "has no powers to implement the tests at the destination for tourists" and that the new Statute of Autonomy "only establishes the possibility of collaborating with Foreign Health", an agency that depends on the State. "We are going to try until the last minute because this provides security for tourists and all the canaries" , he insisted, however, there is less than a week before the state of alarm in Spain is lifted and that the European borders are opened.
For his part, Torres has once again defended that these tests are the "most appropriate formula to guarantee health security in the face of the threat of the coronavirus," but this would have required international agreements that has not been reached in recent months, and The Spanish Government has not chosen to establish this measure either.
Regarding the controls that will be carried out, the Canarian president recalled that in the European Union it has been agreed to require tourists to make a responsible declaration on Covid-19, as well as temperature controls. However, the president continues to consider that it is insufficient and has referred to the statement made by those responsible for Madeira in a recent bilateral meeting between the two archipelagos, in which they maintained that they preferred to “invest in tests rather than unemployed”, “I I add: We prefer to invest in tests rather than unemployed and in having hospitals with very serious problems and deaths as a result of COVID-19, "said the president.
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