Health

UK arrivals to require PCR test, vaccine proof to enter Spain

(Update 1: Adds details of nationwide rule change)

Madrid, Jun 28 (EFE).- Brits traveling to Spain, including the recently green-listed Balearic Islands, will from the end of this week need to prove they have tested negative for Covid-19 or are fully vaccinated, the Spanish foreign minister said Monday.

Arancha Gonzalez Laya said in a tweet that the rule change would be formalized in Spain’s state gazette on Tuesday morning and come into effect 72 hours later, on Friday.

The Spanish government removed travel restrictions for UK arrivals at the end of May in a bid to revive tourism before the summer season.

The new change means Brits who have booked holidays in Mallorca, Menorca or Ibiza, recently placed on the green travel list by the UK government, will now have to obtain a PCR test result no longer 72 hours before travel or bring proof that they are fully vaccinated.

Over 48% of UK citizens are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 but the country is witnessing a spike in new cases driven by the virulent Delta variant of the virus first detected in India.

Last week the UK government announced that the Balearic Islands would be added to its list of safe destinations as of Wednesday, meaning those returning to the UK from the Mediterannean islands will not have to undergo an obligatory quarantine.

Arrivals from the rest of Spain still have to undergo quarantine and take a series of Covid-19 tests once in the UK.

Earlier in the day, Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed to local radio that the rules would be rolled out to the Balearics.

“We are going to apply to British tourists who travel to the Balearic Islands the same restrictions that we place on the rest of Europe: they will need either to be fully vaccinated or have a negative PCR test,” Sanchez told Cadena SER radio.

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