From today May the 15th until at least the 15th of June, all people arriving in Spain from abroad are expected to self-quarantine for two weeks.
Quarantining all visitors from abroad is a new measure introduced by the Ministry of Health to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus in Spain, where the official number of total cases is 275,000, the second highest in the world after the USA, and the death rate per 1m/population is the second highest in the world after Belgium.
Besides the quarantine, non-essential travel to Spain will be heavily restricted. As a rule, Spanish authorities will only let in Spanish citizens, permanent residents of Spain, and regular residents of the Schengen area who are in transit to their place of residence. Other visitors could be turned back.
So, if you return home to Spain from abroad from today onwards you will be expected to stay in your place of accommodation, be it your own home or temporary accommodation, only going out for essentials such as food and medicine, when you are expected to wear a face mask. The authorities can check up on you.
It means that if you are returning to Spain to start bargain hunting in a market that will undoubtedly offer up rich pickings soon or later, you will have to spend the first two weeks under house arrest wherever you are staying.
In a tit-for-tat measure of high-minded policy, France has just imposed the same on all visitors from Spain, and the British government has announced it plans something similar (maybe, sometime?).
Quarantining international visitors to countries like Spain where the Covid-19 virus is already endemic might not help bring the disease under control, but it will certainly give Spain’s’ tourist industry another kick in the teeth. That will also hurt the holiday-home market, both rental and sale.
According to a study by the tourist industry lobby Exceltur, the coronavirus crisis will reduce tourist income in the Balearics by 40% this year, followed by Catalonia down 34%, the Valencian Region -33.6%), Andalusia -32.5%, Madrid -27.9%, and the Canaries -25.9%. Reliance on tourism explains why Spain will suffer the economic consequences more than most.
MarkDavid says:
As far as I am aware, there has been no time period established for how long this self-quarantine period will last.
If the virus continues to decline in Spain and in the rest of Europe and possibly further afield, I would think it highly likely that Spain’s borders will re-open without quarantine stipulations and with tourist facilities open, quite conceivably by the start of the main holiday season, i.e. late June or early July onwards. I really can’t imagine that an extremist minister’s knee-jerk comments will prevail and allow millions of tourist Euros to be lost this year in an economy which is already in dire straights.
MarkDavid says:
I must quickly amend, with apologies to Mark S., something misleading I wrote….probably due to the stress we’re all living with at present!
The quarantine period for international visitors to Spain, as stated in the article, will be lifted once the three “recovery” stages from the pandemic have been successfully undertaken countrywide and the state of “alarm” (or emergency) has been terminated. The date of that is of course unknown, but the other general points I made in my message do, I believe, remain valid.
sallyjw says:
I’m really surprised at the slowness in bringing in the quarantine and it is only ‘self-isolation’. It’s a reminder to us in Australia how well our Governments (Federal and States) have been managing Covid-19.
We introduced forced 14 day quarantine from selected countries back in February. In late February / early March that quickly moved to 14-day quarantine for anyone travelling to Australia (not just selected countries) and for citizens 14 day self-isolation returning to Australia. By mid-March our borders were closed to international travellers (some domestic state/region borders had already closed so limiting travel across the country.) Then by end of March anyone entering Australia – mainly Australians returning (citizens and permanent residents) have been placed in 14 day forced quarantine.
This quick action has been effective. The stats speak for themselves. We’ve had est 6,300 cases and 98 deaths out of a population 25 million.
Of course these strict measures have impacted on the economy (as it has around the world).
But we are indeed the Lucky Country.
Bernard Anna ZenRuffinen says:
Hello, It is all very confusing. Which international visitor is allowed to visit Spain to look for housing? I am a Swiss with a second home in Mallorca, will they let me in if I quarantine for 14 days?
Mark Stücklin says:
Bernard, sorry for the confusion. I have edited my article to clarify that you cannot currently visit Spain for anything but essential travel or returning home. As things stand you cannot visit a second home if you don’t live in Spain.