Check how Portugal’s new ‘state of calamity’ affects Spain

Check how Portugal’s new ‘state of calamity’ affects Spain

This Wednesday, December 1, Portugal will re-enter what is known as a ‘state of calamity’. The land border between Spain and Portugal will remain open, with free movement. Even so, police officers manning border controls are within their rights to carry out random checks, and request the vaccination certificate and the negative test at any time. Only those aged under 12 are exempt from showing certificates and negative tests.

Travellers arriving on flights will be required to present a negative test, even those who are vaccinated. In addition, negative tests with 72 hours of validity are required to enter the country by any means – land, sea or air.

Once in Portugal, the digital Covid certificate is mandatory to access restaurants, bars, and tourist accommodation, and a negative test to enter nightclubs and bars.

The new measures are designed to combat the new coronavirus variant, Omicron, of which, 12 cases have already been detected in Portugal. Hospital admissions have increased recently, with a spike in infections. This has spurred the Portuguese government to take evasive action in the face of another wave leading up to Christmas.

Tight restrictions are being put in place for December, and also for the first week of January, with citizens being asked to stay in confinement for the first week of the new year.

As always, there is close coordination between the authorities of Portugal and Spain to fight against the spread of the virus. There are 80 border crossing points between the two countries, which will undoubtedly be controlled by police officers on both sides. Anybody who might be contemplating a trip into Portugal for the December bridge should take into consideration the new measures that will be in place.

Masks will be mandatory after Wednesday 1, in closed spaces such as cinemas, theatres, bars, discos, old-folks homes, and hospitals. Special emphasis will be placed on the airport areas, where penalties for companies that do not comply with the protocol could reportedly amount to €20,000, as reported by diariodesevilla.es.

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