Spain-says-no-to-antigen-test-for-the-canaries

[el caballo hambriento]

PCR only allowed.

From Janet Anscombe site

https://www.janetanscombe.com/news/spain...ent-563534

Published 1st December 2020

[F1refly999]

Even more confusion 

https://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/...ing-scheme

[windermeregolfer]

And published in Canarias7 at 22.06hrs last night - 

Las islas urgen un acuerdo con el Gobierno sobre los test de antígenos | Canarias7

The regional executive of the Canary Islands has intensified negotiations with the central government in recent hours to promote the use of antigen tests as an alternative to PCRs for tourists travelling to the Canary Islands and will value making a decision on this same Thursday in the Governing Council.
A spokesman for the Government of the Canary Islands has explained to Europa Press that talks are "maintained and intensified" to reach a comprehensive agreement that includes all travelers visiting the archipelago.
In any event, the Regional Executive shall assess taking his own decision on Thursday in the Governing Council. It should be remembered that the Canary Islands already has an autonomic standard in which travelers must provide a negative test in COVID-19 if they want to sleep in any type of tourist accommodation in the archipelago.
The same sources have specified that the Canary Government's desire is to reach that general agreement with the aim of boosting safe tourism to the islands, which has been harmed by the price of PCRs in some countries.

[el caballo hambriento]

This lot is as clear as mud...........

[Mia]

According to government sources, the Canary Islands will validate antigen tests for all travellers in today's Governing Council, with or without the backing of the Central Government, after they didn’t take a single step yesterday to support this initiative, even though it has been constantly requested by administrations, tourist associations, and even by the regional government itself.

This was first stated yesterday by the Minister of Tourism, Yaiza Castilla, who insisted that it is not a whim of the Islands but that the PCR tests, the only one valid until now, are sometimes more expensive than flight tickets for tourists, and she warned that, if the antigens tests are not allowed, "there will be a cascade of cancellations for the remainder of the winter season."

In addition the PCR tests are not always readily available for travel, and now that the United Kingdom lifted lockdown in England, they will be able to start travelling again making it even more important.
Up to now the excuse given by the Government of Pedro Sánchez, especially the Minister of Tourism, Reyes Maroto, for not validating the antigen tests is that the European Union had not authorized them and, as she said on Monday in La Palma, until they do, the Government will not give the OK.

This excuse has run out for Sanchez, as yesterday, the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) openly requested that no systematic tests or mandatory quarantines be imposed on travellers travelling between Member States, because they maintain that the risk of contagion among airline passengers is "much lower" than among the general population, while they demanded clear and precise information for tourists about the situation at their destinations.

In fact, the Health Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, said after a meeting by videoconference with the Twenty-seven member states yesterday afternoon, that the risk of the Coronavirus "is not the journey itself", but the containment measures in the places of origin and destination, and asked that "travellers are not considered a risk population or treated as if they had been in contact with a Coronavirus patient.”

The governing council is taking place this afternoon in the Canary Islands parliament, until then there is no indication of a start date that antigen tests will be acceptable.

https://www.canarianweekly.com/posts/can...-today#ath