Germany declares all of Spain a Covid-19 high-risk zone

Germany declared all of Spain a Covid-19 high-risk zone on Friday.

This means that starting on Tuesday, unvaccinated travelers, as well as those who do not have proof of having recovered from the illness, will have to quarantine for 10 days when they return to Germany if they have visited Spain.

Travelers who test negative will only be required to self-isolate for 5 days. 

Germany considers countries and territories with a 7-day incidence rate of over 200 cases per 100,000 inhabitants to be high risk. As of July 22, this figure stands at 333.43 for Spain as a whole and at 592.28 in Catalonia. 

Covid entry requirements in Spain

As for Spain, the current restrictions for those visiting only include quarantining if traveling from Brazil, South Africa or India. 

Arrivals from at-risk areas, which still include most countries worldwide, must provide a document that either shows:

• The traveller has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 at least 14 days prior to arrival in Spain
• The visitor has a negative result from a diagnostic test, within 72 hours prior to arrival in Spain for a NAAT (nucleic acid amplification test, e.g. RT-PCR, RT-LAMP, TMA), or within 48 hours for a RAT (rapid antigen test)
• The person has recovered from Covid-19, after the disease has passed, provided that more than 11 days have elapsed since the first positive NAAT test was performed. This will be valid for up to 180 days thereafter

Check out the Catalan News guide on the Covid entry requirements in force in Spain.

Covid-19 in Catalonia

Coronavirus cases have skyrocketed in Catalonia over the past few weeks due to the spread of the very contagious Delta variant accounting for over 80% of new infections. And although authorities believe the fifth wave of the pandemic is "waning" after peaking last week, cases remain high. 

All in all, there have been 864,933 confirmed Covid-19 cases since the pandemic last year, while 22,390 people have died. 

4,860,630 residents have been given the first dose of the vaccine, 61.7% of the total population. Out of those, 3,787,556 have also been administered a second dose (48.3% of the total population). 4,243,225 residents are considered to be fully immunized (53.9%).