Canary Island closes its beaches immediately after being hit by coronavirus second wave of at least 40 new cases
- El Hierro previously registered few cases and no deaths prior to second wave
- At least 40 people are infected prompting local authorities to take urgent action
- Local president Alpidio Armas today announced new preventative measures
- These include prohibition of using the bathing areas on the holiday island
A holiday island in the Canaries has had to shut down its beaches after being hit with a second wave of coronavirus.
El Hierro previously registered only a handful of cases and no deaths.
But a second wave of the virus has left at least 40 people infected – prompting local authorities to take urgent action.
Local president Alpidio Armas today announced new preventative measures which include, among others, the prohibition of using the bathing areas on the island.
El Hierro – a holiday island in the Canaries -has had to shut down its beaches after being hit with a second wave of coronavirus
He said: ‘Early intervention has been shown to be a fundamental tool to prevent the spread of the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus in El Hierro’.
‘In this sense, health protection measures have been issued, within each area of competence, in order to reduce and prevent risky contacts between citizens in relation to Covid-19.’
The island is the second smallest of the popular Canaries and attracts tourists looking for a more serene holiday in stunning surroundings.
Health chiefs are devastated that their good record has been hit and want to take decisive action to prevent a further spread.
The measures imposed immediately also include closure of public spaces; restriction of access to residences for the elderly; suspension of all kinds of cultural, social and sports activities organised by the island’s government and closure of libraries and educational centres.
Parks and markets have also been closed, as well as children’s play areas.
Island El Hierro (file image) previously registered only a handful of cases and no deaths
Mr Armas said the mayors of the three municipalities of Valverde, La Frontera and El Pinar had met to agree on the new regulations as a matter of urgency ‘in order to reduce and prevent risky contacts between citizens in relation to COVID-19.’
The El Hierro government team says it is in close contact with the Canary government because of the proximity of the planned reopening of schools on September 15.
The Canaries – having had a low incidence of coronavirus and deaths in the first wave – is currently seeing record level of diagnoses and both Lanzarote and Gran Canaria have warned of localised lockdowns if the level doesn’t drop.
Today, the archipelago added another 297 cases, bringing the total number to 7,106.
El Hierro has also called for security reinforcements and army personnel to help with disinfecting public areas.
Local president Alpidio Armas today announced new preventative measures which include, among others, the prohibition of using the bathing areas on the island (file image)
Gran Canaria has accumulated 3,702 cases of coronavirus – of which 2,899 are still active. This represents 68 per cent of the total active cases on the islands.
Tenerife has 2,380 cases of which 782 are still active.
Lanzarote has 429 active cases and an accumulated 551, Fuerteventura with a total of 277 of which 121 are still active.
La Palma has 141 cases and 22 are still active. El Hierro has 37 active cases out of a total of 40 and La Gomera has15 cases of which six are still active.
Canary president, Angel Victor Torres says the islands are doing all they can to head off more lockdowns, with the next ten to 14 days being crucial to see if extensive new regulations will dent the figures.