Spain Extends Its Quarantine For Twelve Countries

SPAIN extends its quarantine for twelve countries until May

With the ending of the state of alarm next month and renewed hopes that Spain might be ready to welcome back tourists in the near future, the government is taking no chances with countries it believes to be high-risk, particularly from the more contagious Covid variant. To this end, Spain has decided to extend its quarantine requirements for travellers returning from twelve countries for the third time.

The order, which was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) by the Ministry of Health, will be in force until May 3, and imposes a mandatory ten-day quarantine on people coming to Spain from Brazil, Peru and Columbia, as well as from nine countries in Africa. Far from being a bad sign, the Ministry insists the measures are necessary to reduce the spread of infections and overcome this latest wave of coronavirus so that international travel can open up again as soon as possible.

Travellers from the affected countries will be required to self-isolate for ten days following their arrival, or for the duration of their time in Spain if the trip is shorter than the quarantine period, and can only leave home for essential reasons, such as to buy food or seek medical attention. According to the BOE, quarantine in these cases “can only be suspended on the seventh day if the person undergoes a diagnostic test for active infection with a negative result.”

It continues: “Concerns about the effects of the variants from Brazil and South Africa remain, both in terms of their impact due to greater transmissibility, the risk of reinfections and a possible decrease in vaccine efficacy, as well as their extension to neighbouring countries to where they were initially detected, many of which have a limited degree of development of surveillance, detection and notification capabilities.”

The following countries are affected by the extension of the order, as reported by Spanish daily Informacion:

Brazil

Peru

Columbia

South Africa

Botswana

The Union of Comoros

Ghana

Kenya

Mozambique

Tanzania

Zambia

Zimbabwe

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