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COVID-19

Covid-19: Spain demands negative PCR test on new arrivals from Nov 23

From November 23rd, Spain will demand a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours for all travellers arriving from countries with high coronavirus infection rates.

Published: 11 November 2020 17:51 CET
Covid-19: Spain demands negative PCR test on new arrivals from Nov 23
Photo: AFP

Spain’s Health Ministry announced the new policy on Wednesday explaining that it would use European Union criteria to define which countries are considered high risk.

“The basic reference will be the accumulated incidence per 100,000 inhabitants in the past 14 days,” it said, without providing more details.

 

Health Minister Salvador Illa explained that there would be no testing at Spain's land borders but the requirement would be in place at airports.

“We will ask the airlines to collaborate and check for travellers’ PCR (swab) tests before boarding,” Illa said, adding that Spain had no plans to impose mandatory quarantine for foreign arrivals.

UPDATE: More details of the PCR test requirements were published in the State Gazette on November 12th

READ MORE: Which travellers must show negative Covid-19 test on arrival in Spain?

Under the EU system, the highest-risk countries are those with more than 150 cases diagnosed per 100,000 people in the past 14 days, or those with an incidence of more than 150 per 100,000 and with over 4 percent of all tests giving positive results.

This threshold is currently far below Spain’s own infection rates which stands at 600 cases per 100,000 people according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which lists the infection rates of each country below: 

 

Until now travellers arriving in Spain only needed to present a passenger locator form, and may be subject to a basic medical check including temperature check but there is no quarantine requirement currently in place.

However, the Canary Islands introduce compulsory negative Covid-19 tests from November 14th, which must be shown by all holidaymakers on arrival at their accomodation.

Spain has adopted measures in line with EU recommendations which means there are effectively no restrictions on those travellers arriving in Spain from EU/UK/ EEA countires but travel is limited from outside the EU unless there are exemptions in place. 

For more details read: What are the rules on travelling to Spain?

 

 

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HEALTH

Respiratory infections soar in Spain over Christmas as hospitals struggle

Cases of viral respiratory infections such as flu, Covid and bronchitis have shot up over the past few weeks in Spain, putting an enormous strain on hospitals across the country and causing a severe lack of beds.

Published: 4 January 2024 12:33 CET
Respiratory infections soar in Spain over Christmas as hospitals struggle

Winter colds and flu are common, but this year Spain has seen a spike in cases of three different viruses – flu, Covid and bronchitis at the same time.

This comes after the festive and New Year period with lots of family gatherings and meetings with friends without much thought for social distancing days of the pandemic.

Rise in cases

According to health services, there are 35 percent more cases of these infections than a year ago, a percentage that is expected to continue rising until the third week of January when the epidemic peak will be reached after more gatherings for Three Kings’ Day on January 5th and 6th.

In a period of seven days, the rates of flu have gone from 532 to 908 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The cases of Covid have also grown from 12.6 percent to 13.6 percent.

The Health Minister, Monica García has published a message on social media reminding the public of the importance of getting vaccinated and maintaining prevention measures, such as ventilating rooms, washing hands and wearing a mask.

The head of the Emergency Department at the Reina Sofía University Hospital in Murcia, explained that the profile of these patients ranges “from young people with flu pathologies who go to the emergency room because health centres have delayed their appointments and people over 80 years old with pneumonia due to the flu who end up being admitted”.

Lack of hospital beds

According to the first vice president of the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES), Pascual Piñera, 10 of patients with these infections end up admitted to hospital overnight and one of the biggest problems staff are facing is the severe lack of beds, “They have nowhere to put the sick”, he explained.

The situation is the same all over the country. Red Workers union of the La Paz University Hospital in Madrid has reported that there are 105 patients pending admission and beds in the hallways are in double rows, “which cannot be evacuated if the patient worsens or there is a fire”.

Delays in primary health care 

Acute respiratory infections not only put a strain on hospitals and emergency rooms, but also primary care centres, causing delays and long waiting times for appointments. 

The spokesperson for the Federation of Associations for the Defence of Public Health (FADSP), Marciano Sánchez Bayle, explains that it is generating a “major traffic jam” in the healthcare system “where appointments are made for very late dates”.

Sánchez Bayle cites the case of the Community of Madrid, where he knows that appointments requested in December were not given until the end of January “which further clogs an already saturated system”. 

The need for greater vaccination rates 

Besides the festive period, many health professionals believe that the situation could be improved if more people were getting vaccinated, specifically against the flu. 

Flu vaccination in Spain is far below the WHO recommendations, hovering around 50 percent of the population at risk, when the goal is 75 percent. And the percentage is even lower in the case of children under five.

According to the Ministry of Health, the objectives for vaccination against flu and Covid-19 for the 2023-2024 season are to achieve or exceed vaccination coverage of 75 percent in older people and health workers, as well as 60 percent for pregnant women and people with at-risk conditions.

Amós García Rojas from Spain’s Vaccinology Association believes that after a few years without flu during the Covid pandemic, society has relaxed.

The vaccination campaign has not yet ended, so there’s still time to get yours before the end of the season. The campaign began on October 15th and ends on January 31st. 

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