Concerned about the spread of the Covid-19 variants, the Spanish Minister of Health is tightening up measures at airports in Spain and imposing a mandatory quarantine for passengers from South Africa and Brazil.
Travellers who arrive in Spain from South Africa and Brazil must quarantine to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and the variants that are persistent in those two countries. Health Minister Carolina Darias announced this extra measure on Wednesday.
Mandatory quarantine upon arrival in Spain
Anyone arriving from either country via one of the airports in Spain must quarantine for ten days. This can be reduced to seven days if the passenger can provide a negative PCR test result.
Requires ratification by Spanish court
On Wednesday, the Spanish minister sent this declaration to court for approval. This extra step, to have the regulation enforced by the courts, is necessary because the measure limits fundamental rights. It also contains sanctions if people do not comply with the measure. The monitoring of the measure will be the responsibility of the Spanish state security services.
Spanish minister is concerned about new corona variants
During the press conference, the new Health Minister expressed serious concern about the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. She finds this new measure for people arriving from these two countries unavoidable.
Several hundred people in Spain with variants of Covid-19
According to official figures from the Spanish government, as of Wednesday, there were 613 cases with the British variant, six cases with the South African variant and two cases with the Brazilian variant detected in Spain.
