Spain to demand negative COVID test for air travellers from high-risk countries

Spain will from Nov. 23 demand a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours for air travellers arriving from countries with a high risk of contracting COVID-19, the Health Ministry said Wednesday, adding to an array of internal restrictions. One of Europe’s main COVID-19 hotspots with 1,417,709 cases and 40,105 deaths, Spain had increasingly become an exception in the region for its policy of - so far - not asking visitors to show a negative swab test on arrival. It will now use EU criteria to define which countries are classified as high risk, the ministry said, and require test certificates in Spanish or English at airports. Health Minister Salvador Illa said the rule would apply to non-EU countries with more than 150 cases per 100,000 people over the past 14 days. EU countries above that level of incidence, or those with more than 50 cases per 100,000 and with over 4% of all tests giving positive results, will also be affected by the test rule. There will be no testing at Spain’s land borders, Illa said. “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.<br/>