Galapagos reopen sites and marine reserve

The Galapagos reopened tourist sites and the marine reserve of this Ecuadorian archipelago on Monday, closed since March because of the covid-19 which seriously affected this small country, announced the Minister of the Environment, Paulo Proaño. "Today, according to the required biosafety protocols, we are reopening the visit sites of @parquegalapagos (Twitter account of the Galapagos park, editor's note) to help boost the local economy," he said. tweeted.

The ministry said in a statement that visitors must wear a mask and disinfect with alcohol or hydroalcoholic gel. "Concerning the recreational sites near populated ports, the presence on the premises will be limited to a maximum duration of three hours" , according to the same source. The beaches of Galapagos, natural heritage of humanity, were partially reopened to the islanders in May for three hours a day, when Ecuador began to ease the confinement imposed to stem the pandemic.

Read also: Galápagos, an ecological paradise

This archipelago of approximately 30,000 inhabitants, located a thousand kilometers from the coast, is the province of the country least affected by covid-19, with only 100 confirmed cases. On these islands, the cradle of the theory of evolution of the English naturalist Charles Darwin, 85% of economic activity is linked to tourism, which lost $ 200 million between March and May, according to the Galapagos Chamber of Tourism ( Capturgal). In 2019, they had received 271,200 visitors.

Ecuador, with 17.5 million inhabitants, has nearly 68,500 cases of covid-19, including more than 5,000 deaths, in addition to 3,277 deaths probably due to the virus, according to the authorities, but not confirmed due to lack of tests.