TSJC suspended the agreement on the closure of hotel units and limiting the capacity of terraces to 50% after the alert was raised to 3 in Tenerife!

Tuesday, June 29, The Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has suspended the agreement of the Tenerife Governing Council, which decrees the closure of hotels and limiting the capacity of terraces to 50%, after last week the level of health alert was raised to level 3.

The Government of the Canary Islands decreed last week in the Council of Government that Tenerife should return to alert level 3 due to the increase in coronavirus cases. The decision brought with it a series of restrictive measures that once again affected the hotel industry in Tenerife, so the interior of the restaurants was again closed to the public and could only be accessed to use the toilets or to pick up food.

In addition, the 50% capacity threshold for outdoor terraces and the limitation to only 4 people at the table was set, and consumption at the bar was banned. The hoteliers had to stop their activity for the time being.

There is no scientific evidence that indoor activity has influenced the evolution of the pandemic in Tenerife.

Faced with the Executive's decision to re-close Bars and restaurants, hoteliers in Tenerife have said they will appeal the deal, saying it is "restrictive, prohibitive, unfounded and disproportionate." HoReCa representatives in Tenerife also claimed that there is no scientific evidence that indoor activity has influenced it increase in coronavirus cases in the last two weeks. 

After receiving the appeal from  Federation of Urban Areas of the Canary Islands, Section II of the Administrative Litigation Chamber of the TSJC decided, on a very preventive basis and, therefore, without hearing the defendant, to approve the request from the hotel industry, understanding that "Neither the closure of accommodation nor the limitation of capacity on terraces have been shown to be the cause of the contagion problem, nor are they provided as solutions.".

The Court shall give the Government of the Canary Islands three days in which to present the arguments which it considers appropriate. In the end, the public and economic interest of the island prevails.