It may be hot and wearing a mask may be stuffy, but passengers must realise that Madeira’s rules are the rules, and although the majority of visitors to the island are complying, others are visibly complaining. Furthermore, it would appear that people do not fully understanding the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing rules, as a couple arriving from France were upset when they were required to undergo further testing as their negative PCR test was a week old.
At the airport, tour guides were heard to say to each other “If they don’t have a mask, don’t talk to them. Refuse!” When whether tourists were obeying the rules, a guide, who didn’t want to be named said that so far the German tourists had been the most respectful. However, there had already been cases of people removing their masks as soon as they could, saying it was too hot to wear one. The guide retorted, in that case I refused to speak to them. The same thing happened again with another tourist who removed his mask as soon as he had taken his Covid-19 test, when I told him to put it back on he said it was too hot, to which I replied, if it is hot for you, it is also hot for me.
Journalists also noticed a group of young people who kept changing the position of their face masks every minute of so. Sometimes, they were placed on the chin or pushed back and used as a headband, in fact, everywhere except where they were supposed to be.
Please, if you are visiting Madeira, comply with our rules. It may be hot but like the guide said, it is hot for us too. But we all have a duty to preserve not only our safety, but the safety of all those around us.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
