Authorities in Spain have extended restrictions on unnecessary travel from countries outside the European Union and the Schengen Zone until April 30 in order to halt the further spread of the Coronavirus disease.
Initially, such preventive measures imposed by Spain’s government were set to last until March 31. However, in a decision published in Spain’s State Bulletin (BOE), the government announced that, due to the Coronavirus situation, the decision will be kept in place until April 30, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Citizens of foreign countries will not be permitted to make non-essential trips to Spain by air, land, or sea over Easter and the rest of the month.
Countries with recently reported low rates of Coronavirus infection will be eligible to make trips, including New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, China (subject to interchange), as well as the areas of Hong Kong and Macao. Such permission is reached under the Schengen-wide agreements in this regard.
Spain introduced the list for the first time on June 30; however, it has been updated several times, based on the Coronavirus pandemic rate in other countries. On January 28, authorities in Spain excluded Japan from the list after considering the Coronavirus situation in this country.
Spain’s government has clarified that citizens coming from the following countries will be required to present a negative result of the COVID-19 test upon their arrival. The decision will be effective from March 29 until April 4.
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark (except the Faroe Islands and Greenland)
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway (except the Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag regions)
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Sweden
The requirement mentioned above will not include the following countries:
- Australia
- China
- New Zealand
- Rwanda
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Thailand
- Special Administrative Regions of the People’s Republic of China (excepted)
- Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of Macao
The country has reported 3,270,825 infection cases since the Coronavirus started to spread widely, while 75,199 persons have died.
Over 3,038,170 persons have fully recovered from the virus in Spain, while the country faces 157,451 active cases, Worldometers’ figures reveal.
On March 23, the Spanish government spokesperson, Maria Jesus Montero, stressed that the country lifted travel restrictions imposed for citizens of the United Kingdom, as the latter recently reported fewer cases of COVID-19 infection.
Still, the UK’s government has prohibited holidays abroad, including in EU countries, and all persons who violate such a rule risk facing a fine of up to £5,000 (€5,800).
While many world countries have not started to vaccinate their citizens yet, Gibraltar has initiated a vaccination campaign that is among the fastest in European countries.
During the next two weeks, the territory’s administration believes that all of its population over the age of 16 will be vaccinated against the Coronavirus.
Named “Operation Freedom,” Gibraltar’s campaign has managed to fully vaccinate over 57,640 of its citizens or nearly 85.5 per cent of the country’s population.
Authorities in Spain recently announced that they would require PCR test results for persons who plan to cross the land border from France in an effort to contain the virus’ spread during the Easter holidays.
Earlier this month, Spain’s government announced that persons reaching the country from Brazil and South Africa must follow quarantine rules upon their arrival. Such an order will be valid until April 4, 2021.
