Report from Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

[RicROC]

so, I flew into Gran Canaria a few days ago for a vacation and from what I hear from the States is there is almost hysteria. Wegmans shelves are picked clean according to the photos I've seen from Rochester.

Here, there shelves are full (think 7-11 stores), people are relaxed. It feels like a zombie apocalypse because all the stores and restaurants are now closed. I never see anyone with a whole shopping cart filled with supplies. Just a few bottles of water or the preps for the evening meal. Brötchen is still plenitful.

Still some people walk the sidewalks, the sun is out, skies are blue, 70º+ with breeze. It's much more quiet than a few days ago when tourists were expecting Carneval celebration here. Already I'm planning on returning next Winter but for a month.
So far, I have heard no American nor Canadian accent. Maybe some British and plenty of people who speak English as a second language.

I'll be leaving in only a couple days, cutting my vacation short because one never knows what turns this crisis will take. We have a truly incompetant imposter who calls himself President along with his incompetant advisors. What is fascinating is how the Governors are stepping up and acting like Presidents , yet limited to their state borders.

News for me is limited because i don't speak spanish so I read DU and wait for reports from friends.

[jberryhill]

1. If I were you

I’d consider staying a bit longer, or possibly quite a while longer. You might be better off there. Entering the US is a clusterfuck.

[alwaysinasnit]

2. +1000

[fleabiscuit]

3. I dig the avatar. nt

[Spider Jerusalem]

8. Entering the US will probably be less of a clusterfuck as international flights tail off (n/t)

[Laelth]

4. I dream of retiring to Tenerife one day ...

... with a flat in Manchester for the summers.

Safe travels.

-Laelth

[a la izquierda]

9. Tenerife is divine.

If all this calms down, my partner and I will holiday in Lanzarote and I’ll spend a chunk of my summer in Gran Canaria doing research. He’s currently recovering from a nasty respiratory ailment in Essex and I’m stuck here in the US.

[SharonClark]

5. Maybe you didn't know that you flew into the eye of the storm. From The Sun . . .

"Spain declared a State of Emergency ('Estado de Alarma') on March 14, which introduces a series of measures including significant restrictions on movement throughout the country in response to the coronavirus outbreak."

The latest advice affects all of Spain, including the Canary Islands, with public gatherings banned and all shops apart from those selling food or essential items closed.

People are warned to avoid going outside unless for essential items or for work, with public transport services being reduced.

Gran Canaria has 20 cases of coronavirus, while Fuertuventura and Lanzarote have confirmed three people on each island are infected.

To find out more about where the cases of coronavirus have spread to in Spain, click on this interactive map.

Tenerife was the first island in the Canaries to be affected by coronavirus, after a hotel was locked down due to an outbreak, while the youngest UK victim aged 59 has died after returning from Fuertuventura.

[link: https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/11027479/canary-islands-coronavirus-lanzarote-gran-canaria-spain/|

[RicROC]

6. Thank you!

[RicROC]

7. by order of police

My friend Dieter and I stepped outside to buy bread rolls for breakfast, but we were stopped by the local police who stated only one person is allowed to go shopping. So, I returned to the apartment while he continued to the store.

(Funny that the husband and wife were able to pass by with no warning given to them)