Health officials in the Canary Islands have opted not to raise the COVID level on Gran Canaria despite rising infections.

The island had been expected to join Tenerife on level 4, deemed a ‘very high risk’.

Tenerife was put on the highest level on Tuesday.

But officials said Gran Canaria will remain at level 3, which limits capacity in restaurants, bars and clubs to 40% and on outdoor terraces to 75%.

Mandatory COVID certificates are also required to enter indoor spaces.

The Minister of Health of the Canary Islands, Blas Trujillo, and the director of the Canary Health Service, Conrado Domínguez said the alert on Gran Canaria will not increase despite reaching the level 4 threshold.

Trujillo acknowledged there had been an ‘expectation’ that the level would rise but argued that hospital admissions has yet to reach the numbers seen on Tenerife.

According to the Canarian Weekly, the archipelago registered its two highest numbers of infections since the pandemic began on Tuesday with 6,829 infections and yesterday with 6,769 new cases, an increase of 33% over last week.

Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and La Palma also remain at level 3 with La Gomera and El Hierro on level 2.