EU Covid passports NOT required to enter bars and restaurants in Spain

EU Covid passports will NOT be required to enter bars and restaurants in Spain says Health Minister Carolina Darias

Carolina Darias, the Spanish Health Minister has announced that the demand for the need to show the new UE Covid passport in order to enter bars or restaurants will not be supported by her ministry, and pointed out at the same time that it is not mandatory for anybody to be vaccinated in Spain.

Ms Darias explained after yesterday’s (July 28) weekly Interterritorial Council meeting with all of her regional ministers that the reason the EU Covid passport had been brought out in the first place was with the intention of assisting easier mobility across national borders, and not to regulate entry into hospitality establishments, stating, “Now the priority objective is to continue vaccinating to give the same opportunities to everyone”.

According to Spain’s Health Minister, “In Spain, it is not obligatory to receive the vaccine”, though at the same time pointing out that the vast majority of Spanish health workers are now fully vaccinated and that as a result “there is no problem” in this regard.

The freedom to accept or reject the vaccine has always been fundamental in Spain, and all potential recipients of the vaccine are first asked whether they wish to receive it.

It is also reportedly being debated by various legal sources in Spain as to whether it is actually legal to enforce such a scheme, pointing to the fact that such a decision could be seen as discriminating against those who have not yet been offered the vaccines, as well as those who have already refused the vaccine for various reasons.

Emilio Gallego, the Secretary-General of Hospitality of Spain, during an interview with ‘ Hoy por hoy’, explained that he felt the scheme proposed by some communities to try and enforce the Covid passport in hospitality establishments would encounter a problem, with the lack of legal guarantee that supports workers in the hospitality sector for the identification of these certificates and negative tests, “We find that police function that would force the establishment to do so, and complicated situations could arise”, as reported by larazon.es.

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