Brits among 130 tourists allowed to leave Tenerife coronavirus-hit hotel
27 February 2020, 18:20
Around 50 Britons are among a group of 130 people to be allowed to leave a Tenerife hotel after their fellow holiday makers were diagnosed with the infection.
Of the guests in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace, 168 Britons have been confined to the resort after four people - including a doctor - were infected with Covid-19.
But the Minister of Health in Tenerife said around 130 of guests from 11 different countries will be able to leave the hotel if they arrived on Monday, after infected guests had already left.
A spokesperson from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office told LBC News: "We are urgently seeking clarification from the Canary Island authorities following their announcement that 130 tourists of different nationalities will be granted permission to leave the Costa Adeje Palace Hotel.
"We continue to offer support to all British nationals at the hotel.”
They added that 50 Brits are in this cohort, and the order does not compel those in the hotel to leave, it is medical guidance that they can do if they wish.
Britons have expressed frustration at quarantine measures at the hotel, with guests walking around the hotel without face masks and sharing meals at the buffet.
One guest has said an aqua gym class was held in the hotel pool on Thursday, while another said they had witnessed a cocktail-making class.
A man from Derbyshire, who travelled to the H10 Hotel in Tenerife for four nights with his partner previously said "none of the Brits staying here feel safe".
The 60-year-old said: "We have been told to stay in our rooms but the hotel has no way of enforcing it. We have a WhatsApp group for all of the Brits and we don't feel safe. We think this is going to end up worse than that ship [the Diamond Princess].
"I don't think confusion would be the right word to describe it - they are just not able to enforce quarantine conditions. People are able to walk around the buildings and some are even going in the pool. People are walking about and interacting with each other and not wearing masks.
"They served a buffet-style dinner last night, and people were milling about without masks, touching utensils - the virus is bound to spread.
"It's totally crazy. We feel we are just being quarantined until we eventually get it [Covid-19]. No one seems to be helping, and the consulate aren't helping us - why can't they bring us home? We are in a quarantine that is not being followed and it is not safe.
"I ran out of medication and visited the front desk as I was told more would be brought in. But they were unable to find my medication.
"Eventually, I was given some but I've been told now they won't give out more than one day's worth at a time, so I have already run out again and will need to go back. They couldn't give me any information about why this was."
