Quarantine in Spain

14 day quarantine for travellers to Spain

Passengers who come to Spain from abroad must quarantine for 14 days following their arrival, according to an Order of the Ministry of Health published today (Tuesday) in the Official State Gazette (BOE), which will be effective from Friday, 15 May, and will be in force during the state of alarm and its possible extensions.

Spain follows in the footsteps of many of its European neighbours, which have been establishing quarantine periods of 14 days for travellers on arrival. In Spain, this measure had previously been applied to repatriations of Spaniards and Spanish residents returning from Italy. Now it will be applied to all international travellers, although there will be exceptions.

The government says, "the favorable evolution of the epidemiological situation" in Spain and the beginning of the de-escalation "require the strengthening of control measures, in such a way that taking into account the worldwide distribution of the virus. As a precaution, it is considered necessary to apply to people who come from abroad the need to quarantine for 14 days. "

During this quarantine period, travellers who come to Spain must remain at their home or accommodation, and must limit their travel to the acquisition of food, pharmaceuticals and basic necessities; visiting health centres or services deemed essential. The use of a mask will be mandatory.

Health authorities may also contact quarantined persons to monitor their whereabouts. If symptoms such as fever, cough, respiratory distress, general discomfort or other symptoms of a suspected case of Covid-19 appear, people in quarantine "should contact the health services by telephone using the numbers provided by autonomous communities, indicating that they are in quarantine due to arrival from abroad," says the Order.

Cross-border workers, goods transportation workers, as well as health professionals who are going to carry out their work, are excluded from all these measures, provided they have not been in contact with people diagnosed with Covid-19.

Travel agencies, tour operators and transport companies must inform travellers of these measures at the beginning of the ticket sales process. That way people travelling to Spain, to stay in their own property or in a hotel, will be informed at the outset that although they may be allowed to arrive in Spain, when they get here they may not leave their accommodation for two weeks.

In the case of air travel, airlines must provide a public health form to ensure authorities can locate passengers (Passenger Location Card), a copy of which must be carried by the traveler upon arrival in Spain.