Government officials of Spain's Canary Islands have issued a warning that the getaway hotspot won't be opening its doors to international tourists until at least October.
Spain is the second-worst hit country, second to the United States. The nation's death toll currently stands at 21,282 with 204,178 cases of infection.
The popular island of Tenerife was badly impacted in the early stages of the pandemic when the four-star H10 Costa Adeje Palace went into lockdown, following the discovery that an Italian holidaymaker had tested positive for Covid-19.
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Regional government officials for travel and tourism have now confirmed the Canary Islands - which are made up of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hiero, plus other smaller islands - will not be open to international holidaymakers until at least October, possibly later.
In their statement, the officials confirmed that 'international tourism' would be the third and final phase of its return to normality.
Angel Victor Torres, Canary Islands' president, told local press in an official statement: "The Canary Islands were the first to have coronavirus in Spain and now we want to be the first out of confinement."
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Torres went on to confirm that the reinstigation of international tourism would follow a three-phase plan.
Residents of the Canary Islands will take first priority, with movement of locals being reintroduced first. The second phase will see Spaniards from the country's mainland able to visit the Canary Islands. Finally, holidaymakers from abroad will once again be able to access the islands.
Torres continued: "That way, in October, November or December, which are good months in the Canary Islands, we can begin to receive tourists from other countries."
The original forecast for the reopening of the Canary Island's hotels and resorts was for 1st June. Torres explained that this had been overly optimistic.
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"Today, that plan is too optimistic," he told the press conference. "If in the months of July or August we can get hotels open, we would be on the right path.
"We are defeating #coronavirus and the curve is clearly descending.
"We will recover the normality that we long for today, doing what we all did before March 14. Today we are much closer to that."
If you had a vision of yourself celebrating the end of lockdown by lying on a beach in Fuerteventura, it will have to wait.
Featured Image Credit: UnsplashTopics: News, Coronavirus, travel