Travelers to Spain must provide negative COVID-19 test

The Spanish Health Ministry said Wednesday that foreign travelers from countries considered high-risk areas for the coronavirus will be asked to provide proof of a negative test to visit Spain

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The Spanish Health Ministry said Wednesday that foreign travelers from countries considered high-risk areas for the coronavirus will be asked to provide proof of a negative test to visit Spain

The ministry said that starting Nov. 23, travelers to Spain will be required to submit a negative test result from within 72 hours prior to their planned departure. They will be able to do so via the internet or with a document before boarding a plane.

The proof of being virus-free before traveling will come on top of the temperature checks performed on arriving passengers at Spain’s airports. The measure will apply to countries designated as “high risk.”

The EU considers member nations to be high-risk zones if either their 14-day cumulative case notification rate is 50 or more and the positive test rate for COVID-19 is 4% or more, or if their 14-day cumulative case notification rate is more than 150 per 100,000 inhabitants.

For non-EU countries and European nations within the visa-free Schengen travel area, Spain will make its own evaluations based on cumulative cases over the previous two weeks and other factors.

Like most of Europe, Spain is struggling to contain a resurgence of virus infections. It has reported around 1.4 million confirmed cases and nearly 40,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Spain's robust tourism industry, a pillar of its economy, has taken a huge hit due to fears and restrictions caused by the virus.