Hello you crisis-plagued surfers,
what has been that year until now? It's not over yet, but no one will contradict me if I answer this question for myself with the words: It was the most unforeseen and strangest year in a long time.
For the inland surfers among us, who always have to combine our sport with a trip, it was certainly a very complicated year. Travel planning is only possible to a limited extent in Corona times and a glass ball to see into the near future would definitely be helpful.
If this year has taught us one thing is that everything that previously seemed certain and self-evident must always be questioned.
This is exactly what is emerging as a new problem with surfing trips to the Canary Islands.
After Spain and, with it, the Canary Islands, probably had one of the strictest curfews in the EU in spring, the virus seemed to have been defeated in the Canaries in particular. There were virtually no more new infections. It was probably this deceptive feeling of security that led to a surge in infections in late August and in the travel warning in early September.
The Canaries have the lowest number of new infections in all of Spain
Even without a new lockdown, the Canaries got the infected numbers under control in just one month with better case follow-up and the ban on larger celebrations. Now the Canary Islands have the fewest new infections in all of Spain. Even in a European comparison, the number of new infections in the Canary Islands is very low.
In the meantime, it only seems to be a matter of a few days before the travel warnings from other European countries are lifted again.
The numbers from which, for example, a travel warning is issued by Germany (50 per 100.000) or Switzerland (60 by 100.000) has been clearly undercut for over a week.
But now many European municipalities, cities and districts themselves exceed these numbers. Many citizens rightly ask themselves: "Do I have to be in quarantine after entering the country?"
It is safer in Fuerteventura's beaches than on the buses and subways of major European cities
No.
There are no travel restrictions for tourists from mainland Europe. Nobody has to be quarantined when entering Fuerteventura.
Fuerteventura's beaches - the dream destination for us surfers and most of the other tourists who come to the island - are probably the best place to protect yourself from the virus.
In the Canary Islands there is currently a discussion about whether travelers from mainland Spain or from other European countries should undergo a rapid corona test. This test will not be a PCR test but an antigen test. With the new antigen tests you have the result after a few minutes. In this way it will be possible to determine very quickly whether potentially infected travelers need to be quarantined.
In the past, infections were mainly brought in from Madrid and Catalonia. The tests are not only intended for tourists, but for everyone who travels to the Canary Islands.
Many welcome this solution and I think that it will be used as soon as sufficient antigen tests are available.
Conclusion
Nobody has to be quarantined in Fuerteventura who comes from a risk area. The island's beaches are the best place for social distancing. In the foreseeable future, antigen tests for the corona virus will probably be carried out upon arrival. With these tests you have the result in a few minutes.