Spain will join the growing list of countries that will not allow travelers from “high-risk” areas for the coronavirus to enter its borders without a negative COVID-19 test.
The Spanish health ministry’s order will not go into effect until Nov. 23. Travelers hoping to enter the country will be required to submit a form confirming that they have tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of the flight, according to a Wednesday press release.
This measure is in addition to already existing mandatory temperature checks. The results can be submitted on the Spain Travel Health website, the SpTH app, or with a physical copy before boarding.
Spanish authorities said the policy is in line with an October recommendation from the Council of the European Union that attempted to resolve disparities between coronavirus-related travel restrictions and policies that had been enacted by countries in the economic bloc. That recommendation established a three-tier grading system to evaluate the risk level of each country based on cumulative cases and test positivity rates.
Spain’s testing mandate will apply to European countries in the “red” zone, which means that the country has a test positivity rate higher than 4% or has a 14-day cumulative caseload of more than 150 people per 100,000. For non-EU countries, Spain will use the same 14-day cumulative guideline.
Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa said that opting for “diagnostic tests and not quarantines” could enable safe travel inside the bloc, according to the Associated Press. Spain’s economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus because of the significant reduction in global travel. Tourism to cities such as Barcelona and Madrid is an integral part of Madrid’s economy. Regional authorities in Madrid celebrated the decision, which they had been requesting for months.
“We continue to show a downward tendency (of the contagion spread), but it is still very worrying, with high levels of hospitalizations and high level of ICU occupancy,” Illa said during Wednesday’s announcement.
Spain does not allow travelers from the United States unless they meet specific requirements, such as being a legal resident of most European countries, a visa-holder, or a spouse of a qualifying traveler.
Spain became the first country in Western Europe to break 1 million coronavirus cases in October after much of the EU began recording record-breaking coronavirus caseloads. Its case positivity rate has been greater than 10% since mid-October, according to Our World in Data. At the time, Illa said that “some very hard weeks are coming.”
