The health authorities in Spain are going to decree the obligation of a negative test to Covid-19 for all those who travel to the country from Portugal and other countries considered at risk. The announcement was made this Wednesday by the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, who informed that the measure was already being studied since the summer.
According to the news reported by “El País”, this Wednesday, Portugal is part of the list of risky countries in the European Union and the Schengen zone prepared by the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC). The criterion for countries to be painted red (high risk) is if the incidence rate (Rt) is greater than 150 per 100 thousand inhabitants.
This Wednesday Portugal recorded another 82 deaths (the highest number of deaths ever) and 4,935 new cases of Covid-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 3,103 deaths and 192,172 cases of Covid-19 infection have been recorded.
According to the latest report from this body, all these countries are at maximum risk, with the exception of Norway, Finland and Greece, which are, for now, the only countries exempted from presenting a negative test before traveling to Spain. Passengers from other countries will have to submit a test to Covid-19, with a negative result, carried out 72 hours before departure. The measure takes effect from November 23.
For countries outside these groups, the minimum entry requirement will be an incidence rate of less than 25 per 100,000 inhabitants within 14 days.
According to the Spanish newspaper, the proof presented must be the original, written in Spanish or English and can be submitted on paper or in electronic format.
The autonomous community of the Canaries, one of the regions least affected by the virus, had already launched a similar measure in which it obliges tourists who travel to the island to do a PCR test before arriving. The measure was approved on October 29 and will take effect on November 14. It establishes that without a negative test done with a maximum of 72 hours in advance, the tourist will not be admitted to a hotel, apartment or local accommodation. The measure covers both tourists and Spanish residents.
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