Madeira will continue to provide tourists with covid-19 antigen tests, as a way of maintaining the attractiveness of this destination and will not change the preventive rules due to the return of many students and emigrants to the festive season.
The guarantee was given today by the President of the Regional Government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, on the sidelines of the opening of a supermarket in the largest social district in the region, in the Nazaré area, in São Martinho, in the municipality of Funchal, in which around 7,000 live people and which represented an investment of half a million euros and created 15 new jobs.
“Right now, most tourists who come are already vaccinated and this is one of the ways to ensure the attractiveness of the destination: the test is to be done in Madeira for free,” said the Madeiran chief executive.
The government official stressed that this measure is in force, admitting that if visitors arrive with an antigen test carried out at the origin, “it is more rewarding for the Regional Government”.
Albuquerque argued that, “in this festive season, one way to guarantee the attractiveness of Madeira is this facility, unlike other destinations where people have to take the test and pay very high prices”.
And exemplified with what happens in France and England, where rapid antigen tests “are very expensive”.
“Here [in Madeira] we have this facility. It is a boon to ensure good attractiveness for our destination and also that it is a destination that guarantees testing every seven days, which is something we are doing and will have positive consequences for the pandemic control,” he argued.