Spain Set To Allow Brits To Enter From May 20 Without COVID-19 Test
Spain News
Published: 12 May 2021 12:51 CET
Spain’s tourism minister Reyes Maroto has confirmed that Brits visiting Spain from May 20 will not need to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test.
However, it will only be on the proviso that the UK maintains its current rate of just 50 infections per 100,000 people.
Speaking about the move, Ms Maroto said: “It will allow the opening of the British market so they can come to Spain.
“They (Britons) could come from May 20 onwards without a PCR if the incidence rates are below the range currently under review, which is around 50 cases per 100,000 people.
"We know what we have to do to allow British people to travel to Spain, which is to lower the cumulative incidence and keep on vaccinating."
The news comes despite Spain recently being placed on the ‘amber list’ under the UK’s new traffic light system which assesses the risk based on the destination country’s infection rate.
British holidaymakers travelling to countries that are on the amber list will need to quarantine for 10 days at home on their return and take two Covid tests on days two and eight.
Under the current system, the UK will monitor the situation periodically and categorise each country based on its infection rate.
It is hoped that Spain will be placed on the green list on June 7 when the next review takes place. This would mean that Brits could freely enter the country once again without any restrictions.
However, they would still need to take a Covid test prior to their return, complete a passenger locator form and book another test by day two of their return. If the test is negative, self-quarantine would not be required.
The UK’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that Number 10 would continue its “cautious” approach to reopening borders from May 17 when the ban on travel outside the UK is lifted.
He said the government did not want to put the UK's fight against Covid “at risk by going too fast”.
The decision will be a major boost to the ailing Spanish tourism industry which accounts for around 12% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The sector has been impacted heavily since early 2020 due to the entry restrictions imposed on international travellers.
In 2019, more than 18 million Brits visited Spain, making it the most popular holiday destination for UK holidaymakers.
Spain’s vaccination program continues to gather pace with more than 20 million doses now administered with more than six million citizens having received the full dose.
The country’s ministry of health published the latest figures on Tuesday which showed that to date, the country had 3,586,333 infections since the start of the pandemic and 79,100 deaths.
Source
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14927714/spain-covid-tests-brits-holidays/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/europe/spain-looks-welcome-brits-back-24086676
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/spain-testing-covid-britons-green-list-b1845685.html
