Last update: March 3rd, 2021.
Pedro Sánchez announced Spain’s full support for the Green Digital Pass that will be developed by the European Union. The statement was made through an official statement issued by La Moncloa after a special reunion on vaccination certificates held on March 3rd.
“It is essential to recover international mobility and tourism as soon as possible, and to do so in a coordinated manner and with full health security”, highlighted the government via a press release.
The meeting gathered several members of the Spanish administration, who discussed the implications of implementing a COVID pass certificate as a way to restart safe travel and ease mobility.
“We need technological tools ready to start mobility and to put Europe back as a safe travel destination“, said Reyes Maroto, Spain’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, in reference to the EU’s idea of a digital travel pass.
Carolina Darias, Spain’s Health Minister, also pointed out the fact that “vaccination certificates are in no case discriminatory but in fact an incentive for a safe mobility within the European setting.”
Sánchez leads regional efforts to create a COVID pass in Europe
Spain, together with Greece and Austria, is one of the EU countries that has supported the idea of a vaccination passport from the very beginning.
A COVID passport “could contribute to restoring mobility at a European level”, said Reyes Maroto, Spain’s Tourism, Trade & Industry Minister, in mid-January 2021 during a UNWTO meeting.
More recently, and as reported by COVID Pass Certificate, the Spanish region of Andalusia deployed a vaccine certificate in late February, although at that time its purpose and scope were not clear.
After the EUCO meeting held in late February, Sánchez also emphasized that ‘mobility certificates’ “are a valid and useful tool to regain normality as soon as possible without increasing health risk”.
The Spanish government has a special interest in reopening its borders in a safe manner via the EU Digital Green Certificate since the country relies heavily on international travel.
Before the pandemic outbreak, Spain experienced its most successful year in terms of tourism in 2019, breaking its own record for the seventh period in a row.
Spain extends mandatory quarantine to 10 new countries
As of March 8th, passengers from Brazil, South Africa, Botswana, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Peru, and Colombia will need to comply with a mandatory 10-day quarantine when entering Spain.
The new measure, announced on March 3rd afternoon by the Health Minister, aims to contain the spread of COVID-19 variants, especially the ones known as British, Brazilian, and South African strains.
These 10 countries will join Brazil and South Africa, whose nationals were already subject to the same quarantine regime since last February 22nd.
The only way to reduce this seclusion period is by providing a “negative RT-PCR or other tests based on equivalent molecular techniques”, details the official document. If that is the case, passengers are allowed to finish their quarantines on the seventh day.
The Ministerial Order also highlighted this directive will be in place “for an initial period of 14 calendar days and may be extended if the circumstances that motivate it are maintained”.