Negative PCR Tests Mandatory for Passengers Arriving to Spain from 65 Countries, Bulgaria Including

Business » TOURISM | November 23, 2020, Monday // 10:35
Bulgaria: Negative PCR Tests Mandatory for Passengers Arriving to Spain from 65 Countries, Bulgaria Including

 

Spain introduces the requirement for a negative PCR test upon entry into the country for citizens of 65 countries at high risk of COVID-19 infection, including Bulgaria. The measure takes effect from today, November 23.

The Spanish authorities require to present a negative test made 72 hours before arrival in Spain. The measure applies upon arrival at an airport or port, but will not affect passengers crossing the country's land borders. The decision concerns international travellers whose final destination is Spain and not transiting to another country of their final destination.

All passengers are also required to fill in a health control form before entering Spain. It can be found at the following link: https://www.spth.gob.es/ or through the free SPAIN TRAVEL HEALTH-SpTH app. The passenger is obliged to keep a hardcopy of the document.
Passengers arriving in Spain by air or sea must undergo body temperature control, which will be carried out routinely, with a limit of up to 37,5 ºC.

The list of countries or risk areas and the criteria used to determine them will be reviewed every fifteen days. Currently on the list of European countries are Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark (excluding the Faroe Islands and Greenland), Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, France, Greece (excluding the regions of Kitri, Ionia Nísia, Dietiki Elada and Herea Elada), Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal (excluding the Azores), Romania and Liechtenstein. /BGNES

Authorities may request to see the result of the test, which must be an original document, written either in Spanish or in English, and which may be presented in paper or electronic format

In an announcement  in Spain’s Official Gazette, the government offered more details about the new requirement and provided a list of 65 affected countries and territories, which include the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, France, Belgium, Italy, Argentina, Switzerland and Russia, Bulgaria is also included.

This list will be reviewed every 15 days and the update will be available on the Health Ministry website and on the Spain Travel Health website.

In the Official Gazette announcement, the government also confirmed that for now only PCR tests will be accepted, not antigen tests or antibody tests such as ELISA, CLIA or ECLIA.

Starting on November 23, passengers filling out a health control form before entering Spain (available on www.spth.gob.es or through the free app SPAIN TRAVEL HEALTH-SpTH) will find an additional question asking whether they have a negative PCR test result taken over the previous 72 hours.

Authorities may request to see the result of the test, which must be an original document, written either in Spanish or in English, and which may be presented in paper or electronic format, according to the ministry.

The Gazette adds that “passengers arriving in Spain by sea and those arriving by air who, exceptionally, were unable to fill out an electronic health control form, may show a paper form before boarding, as an alternative to the QR code. In this case, the form must be accompanied by the document certifying that the diagnostic test has been done.”

The Canary Islands, which currently have the best coronavirus situation in Spain, recently approved a similar measure that is set to go into effect on November 14. But in this case it affects both foreign and Spanish tourists, who will not be allowed into a hotel or other tourist accommodation without a negative test taken within the last 72 hours.

For now there are no plans for other regional governments to follow suit and ask tourists from other parts of Spain to produce a negative PCR test in order to stay at a hotel or holiday rental./el pais

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Tags: PCR test, tourism, Spain

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