This week the number of Covid cases continues to fall across Spain and by Monday all of the country will be in either phase 2 or phase 3 of the e-escalation process, looking to emerge into the "new normality" from 22nd June when the latest extension to the state of emergency concludes.
Many aspects of life are returning to "almost normal"; next week a significant number of local markets are re-opening with full contingents of shoes and clothes alongside the pickled olives and ripe tomatoes; tourist attractions are re-opening; administrative offices are re-opening; cinemas are re-opening; it will once again be possible to sit on a stool by a bar and have a plate of tortilla with a milky coffee.....almost normal.
But there are still many unknowns relating to what exactly the "new normal" will look like and some of that will be clarified next week, and hopefully the messy contradictions facing the tourism sector will also be clarified. What will happen to the Mar Menor should the weather remain warm next week is another matter altogether.
So let's begin as normal, with the Covid situation:
Spain
Confusion about the full extent of the Covid epidemic in Spain continued this week as questions were asked about the veracity of figures presented by the Ministry of Health following the introduction of a new system on May 11th.
On Monday and Tuesday no deaths were reported at all, and only one on Wednesday, then on Thursday the total number of deaths during the previous seven days was reduced by 7 people when the figures appeared to indicate that there had been 5 new deaths within the previous 24 hours, leading to further criticism from opposition politicians for whom the current lack of accuracy is a gift.
By Thursday afternoon the latest total available was 27,133 deaths with only 56 during the last seven days, a fraction of the deaths formerly being reported....if the figures are accurate that is.
The total number of cases diagnosed in Spain is now 240,660 and although there is no doubt that there has been a greatly reduced death rate and huge deceleration in the number of new and active cases, it is still worrying not to be able to accurately record the current evolution of the epidemic, particularly as there is so much pressure for freedom of movement around the country to resume.
The Health Minister has come in for significant criticism this week and on Thursday attempted to explain the situation to a parliamentary health commission, “the data that I give is not produced by the Ministry: I assume responsibility for the data, but the data is provided by the regions. And there may be, and surely there is, some error, but the criticisms do not seem fair to me, "he said.
By this he means that the regional health authorities of the 17 autonomous regions of Spain enter their daily data through the SiViEs tool, managed by the Carlos III Institute which is then compiled by the ministry into its daily report. If the regional personnel enter new deceased into the system, but do not designate the date of decease, they are not accounted for by the system in the section 'in the last 24 hours', which is the figure published every afternoon. The Minister didn´t explain why health personnel are not able to enter the date of death sometimes but has eluded during the week to "problems" being experienced by some regions to loading in the data correctly.
Only cases diagnosed by PCR test are officially listed as being deaths from coronavirus, but as has been reported many times this does not give an accurate figure as lack of tests in the early days of the epidemic and the collapse of the courts system which authorises autopsies prevented diagnosis of many many deaths.
This week the National Statistics Institute reported that nearly 44,000 people had died over and above what would be considered the habitual level for the first 21 weeks of 2020. This is 24.1% more than normal, and draws its data from civil registries, recording deaths at home, deaths in care homes, and deaths for which testing was not possible, way above the 27,133 Covid deaths officially reported by the Spanish Government.
Only 5.2% of the population has immunity
On Thursday the Ministry of Health presented results of the second round of the National Sero-Epidemiological Study which aims to ascertain what percentage of the Spanish population has positive antibodies for the virus in their blood by testing representative samples from every area of Spain.
In the first round of tests, 5% of the subjects tested positive and this second round of tests confirmed that Spain is a long way from obtaining herd immunity (60%) as only 5.2% gave positive antibody results.This means that only just over two million of Spain’s 47 million inhabitants would have any immunity against the virus should there be a second wave.
In all, around one third of the positive tests had not experienced any symptoms and had no idea they were positive.
There were also significant differences between geographical areas of the country, those living on the coast showing much lower levels of positive cases.
The regions with the highest prevalence of positives are Madrid (11.4%), Castilla-La Mancha (10.3%) and Castilla y León (7.5%). At the other extreme are Ceuta (0.5%), the Balearic Islands (1.5%) and Murcia and Asturias with (1.6%).
So although Murcia has recorded the lowest mainland number of cases and deaths, only 1.6% of our population has managed to gain any immunity, and this does make the region more vulnerable to a potential second wave.
A third and final phase of national testing for the study will begin next week, which will also last two weeks.
Region of Murcia
Figures published on Friday for the Murcia Region show that there have been no deaths in the region for 15 consecutive days, so the number of fatalities remains at 149.
The number of active cases has now fallen to 71, a considerable fall from the 161 cases active last Friday.
Only 45 people remain in home isolation opposed to the 140 of last week and the number of hospitalizations is now 26 of which 4 remain in the intensive care unit.
Number of fatalities: 149; no deaths this week,
Number of active cases: 71
Murcia orders 100 million units of sanitary material ahead of a possible second wave of the virus.
Taking heed of voices warning that there could potentially be a second wave of the epidemic in Spain after the summer, the regional government has decided to pre-purchase equipment to ensure that the regional health service is well prepared.
The orders are already being processed and it is anticipated that delivery will be made in the last quarter of this year and the beginning of the next. Materials purchased include protective gloves, masks, and disposable gowns. "We have been able to cope with the virus this time and, if it comes back, the Region of Murcia will be prepared," said regional president Fernando López Miras.
De-escalation:
On Friday afternoon the Ministry of Health announced that all of the requests made by the 17 regions of Spain to move forward this week have been given the green light, including that of Madrid to move to phase 2, an unexpected outcome for the region which has suffered the worst of the crisis and is still the source of the large majority of new cases in the country.
From Monday Madrid, Barcelona and Castilla y León will move to phase 2, and all of Andalucia will go into phase 3, including Malaga and Granada, which were only in phase 2 for one week.
The Region of Murcia will move into phase 3.
Full details can be seen on the map showing which areas are in which phases below.
What does phase 3 mean in practical terms?
All the existing phase 2 measures remain in place, so residents can go to the beach, go for a swim in the sea or communal pool if it is open, shop wherever they want to and with a partner if they so desire, drive wherever they want to providing it is within the Murcia Region, eat out in a restaurant or take day trips, all within the boundaries of the Murcia Region.
NO travel outside of the Murcia Region is permitted and no travel to the region is permitted other than for merchant traffic or for various work-related reasons considered essential.
Masks must be worn in situations where social distancing is not possible and contact cannot be avoided and in enclosed spaces, such as shopping centres or shops.
Please note; the conditions may change before Monday and any amendments will be published in the BOE on Saturday.
- There is no limit to the time permitted for exercising. This means that non-federated sportspeople can walk or practise any type of sport whenever and wherever they want to (within reasonable social limitations of course).
- Visits to those living in residencias for the elderly are now permitted (within clear guidelines and limited to one hour) and without physical contact.
- Indoor bar seating areas are now permitted to open, with social distancing observed. This means that it is possible once again to sit at the bar and have a bit of tapas or a coffee, rather than being forced to sit away from the bar. Outdoor terraces can increase their capacity to 75% (please note. The Murcian regional government does have discretion in this area and may choose to change this before Monday).
- Weddings may be held in all types of facilities, whether in open or closed spaces, provided that they do not exceed 75% of their capacity, and a maximum of 150 people in open spaces or 75 people in closed places may attend.
- Sports competitions can resume.
- All types of retail stores can admit up to 50% of their total capacity regardless of their surface area.
- Recreational and public areas of shopping centres may open 40% of their normal area
- The communal areas in hotels and tourist accommodation can also open to 50% of their capacity.
- Cultural activities can resume in libraries and museums.
- All cinemas, theatres, auditoriums, circuses etc may resume activity, operating a pre-booked seats system and with a maximum capacity of 50% inside the venue.
- The group size for active tourism activities is extended to 30 people. Maximum group sizes of 20 people will be permitted with a guide but audio guides and brochures will not be allowed.
- Congresses (or business seminars etc) may be held with a limit of 80 attendees.
- Zoos and aquariums can re-open at 50% of their capacity (this includes Terra Natura).
- Casinos, gambling and recreational halls, raffles, tombolas, betting shops can re-open with 50% capacity. All casino chips and cards must be sanitised after each use.
- Organised activities directed at children and young people will be permitted, with a maximum of 200 people in open spaces and 80 indoors.
- Maximum groups of 20 people are permitted to gather in public places and there are no restrictions on the composition of the groups, although security and hygiene measures must be observed, particularly if those considered to be vulnerable are included. There is no limit on the period during which exercise can be undertaken.
- Funeral wakes can be held in all public or private facilities with a maximum limit of 50 people in open spaces or 25 in closed spaces.
Non-officially: Many markets are now resuming 100% capacity and permitting a wider range of stallholders.
Los Belones market will open fully on Monday, NOT Tuesday next week due to the regional holiday on 9th June: at last, clothes, shoes and household goods return to the markets. Click for article
All Cartagena markets re-open fully from 8th June: Click for full list
Lorca castle and visitor centre re-open on Saturday 6th June
Entry to the castle grounds is free of charge and there is an excellent cafeteria on site. Click for full details, maps and opening times
State of emergency extended in Spain until 21st June: The sixth extension was approved after extended and fractious arguments in parliament. Click to read full article
What will happen after 22nd June?
The biggest issue now facing Spain is what happens after the 22nd June when the government loses the wide-ranging powers it has used to control movement and impose restrictions during the last few weeks. Although it is to be hoped that the virus will have been fully brought under control by this date, restrictions of some type will still remain in place until a Covid vaccine becomes available.
There are several pieces of legislation available to the government which will allow it to impose restrictions, but no single piece of legislation which will do everything, so on Tuesday Cabinet will meet to prepare a new decree which will lay out the measures considered necessary as Spain moves into the “new normality” which will follow.
The type of measures suggested to date include the following:
-Health services need to be prepared for any subsequent “waves” by ensuring that there are sufficient beds, equipment and protective clothing to guarantee absolute care for anyone hospitalized with Covid-19.Information sharing is of paramount importance, and the ability to contain any outbreaks rapidly and efficiently.
- The use of masks in public areas and maintenance of social distancing should remain standard.
- Increased public services must be implemented to avoid overcrowding
- Retail shops should continue to limit capacity to 50% and provide gel and gloves for clients.
- Social distancing should be observed in bars and restaurants, with a maximum capacity of 75%.
- Working from home should be offered to employees wherever possible.
- The possibility of resuming sporting fixtures with public attendance, such as football matches is under consideration, albeit with reduced capacity for spectators.
- Cultural events. It is likely that although cultural events can resume from the beginning of phase 3 that future limitations on the number of spectators will be imposed, the probability being that spectators will be limited to half of the theatre capacity, with one seat between each person.
- Travel, borders and boundaries. Will any type of controls be required for movement in and out of Spain and within Europe? Will tracking apps be introduced? Will a quarantine be mandatory for new Covid positives and their close contacts? Will there be a quarantine period for those arriving in Spain? Will there be any limits on movement?
Further information will start to come out next week indicating what we can expect post-lockdown.
Other Covid-related news:
San Pedro del Pinatar cancels all acts relating to the Virgen del Carmen and Fiestas of San Pedro
The risks are too high when the festivities attract such a large number of participants
Although the decision had already been taken in April to suspend the major events within the annual celebrations in honour of the Virgen del Carmen and Fiestas of patron saint, san Pedro in the municipality, it was decided this week that all events would be cancelled in order to minimise the risk of attracting large crowds and endangering the public.Click to read article
This week Lorca also announced the suspension of the region’s largest artisan event, Feramur this year, so all in all, it's going to be a pretty dry summer for those who like a free party. The regional government is promising some free open-air concerts and other cultural events, but nothing has been published yet.
Picnic and BBQ areas in the Sierra Espuña will remain closed due to Covid risk
From June 1st onwards the regional Plan Infomur fire prevention plan begins and it is prohibited to light fires or BBQs for cooking in the regional parks and the two remaining BBQ points in the two areas of the Sierra Espuña, namely those of El Grifo and El Ángel. This year however, the seating areas will remained closed during the early part of the summer due to the Covid situation. This may be relaxed once we move out of de-escalation, but the BBQ points will remain closed full-stop until the autumn rains. Click for full article
Padrón office re-opens in Alhama de Murcia . Click for article
NIE offices re-open. Be aware. Booking is essential as there is a large backlog.Click for article
Health Ministry denies movement between regions in phase 3 will be permitted: This week a topic which caused a lot of media comment earlier in the week related to the movement of Spanish residents around the country. At the moment residents must remain in the province in which they live (bear in mind, Murcia is a single province region, but neighbouring regions such as Andalucía and the Valencia region cover vast geographical areas and are subdivided into multiple provinces).
This was then followed by an even more confusing situation regarding travel (see below).
Economy:
Record rise in Spanish unemployment during May:Unemployment now stands at 3,857,776, excluding all those on temporary redundancy notices. Click for the full article
The effects of the Covid crisis are inescapable, and as predicted, the latest unemployment figures present a worrying picture for the economy during the next few months, the rise in unemployment during May the largest rise ever recorded for this month.
The number of unemployed registered with the state offices of the public employment services of Spain rose by 26,573 during May (+ 0.69%), the largest rise ever recorded for the month of May, according to data published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy on Tuesday.
This was caused by the Covid crisis and although the rise is substantial is ten times less than the rise registered in April and eleven times lower than that of March (March 282,891 and April 302,265).
The total number without work in Spain reached 3,857,776 unemployed at the end of May, the highest May figure on record since May 2016 when the country was still immersed in a major economic crisis and the increase of 26,573 exceeds the previous worst increase on record by more than 11,000; the highest previous figure was in May 2008 when in at the start of the economic crisis unemployment rose by 15,000.The unemployment data for May does not include workers who are suspended from work or working reduced hours as a result of an ERTE temporary redundancy application, since the definition of “registered as unemployed” does not include temporary redundancies.
In seasonally adjusted terms, unemployment rose in May by 122,458, while in the last year unemployment accumulated an increase of 778,285 people, which is 25.3% more. It is important for businesses to be aware of this developing situation which may change the business environment in which they were operating before this crisis occurred, and help them to better plan for the future.
Nearly 6 million people received unemployment benefits on Thursday
As a result, nearly 6 million people received unemployment benefits on Thursday, another unwelcome "record breaker" for the unemployment service, which will also leave the largest hole ever in state finances.
Other news stories this week:
Fire in fruit and veg distributor causes huge column of smoke in Cartagena: Within a few minutes the warehouse was totally destroyed. Click to read the article
Work begins to protect the Bolnuevo Erosions: The erosions were damaged on March 24th a few days after the Covid lockdown began in an episode of torrential rain and these 5 million year old natural sculptures are now being fenced-in to protect them. Click to read full article
Virgen de la Caridad returns to Cartagena following restoration: The Covid outbreak forced the cancellation of the Día de la Patrona this year and prolonged the restoration, so the image was not in the Basilica de la Caridad for the first time on this date in 297 years!. Click to read full article
Guardia dismantle San Javier to UK drugs operation: The Guardia Civil in San Javier have arrested a 34 year old man described as being “of Indian origin” and living on a golf resort in the Murcia region who is accused of sending regular shipments of marijuana to the UK. The man sent regular parcels to the UK, attempting to mask the odour of the contents, although he was no match for a police sniffer dog when questions were raised about the regular shipments... click to read the story
Tragic death in San Javier as mother sets her disabled daughter on fire:Social services were working to resolve a tense situation between the two when the incident occurred.
The mother of a young woman burned in her bed on Wednesday evening in San Javier is to be investigated after confessing to setting fire to the mattress on which her daughter was sleeping.
The incident took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning when neighbours saw smoke coming from the second floor flat inhabited by mother and daughter in Calle Mártires in San Javier and called the 112 services. Click for full article
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First brush fire of the summer season; firefighters in Cehegín tackled a brush fire on the banks of the River Argos in the north-west of the region on Tuesday. Click to see article
Mar Menor
Condition of the Mar Menor has worsened and the water temperature has risen
Last year the fragile marine environment of the Mar Menor continued to slowly improve and stabilise, with visibility, transparency and chlorophyll levels returning to acceptable levels after the episode of eutrophication which turned the water a greenish colour and threatened native flora and fauna in 2016, but the latest water quality measurements are once again sounding the alarm bells and this week there has already been a warning that the lagoon may face another episode of eutrophication.
The long and short of the figures published is that the water quality has deteriorated during the last month, and on Monday the regional minister for agriculture and environment, Antonio Luengo, admitted that the condition of the lagoon has once again worsened.
Although it would be easy to blame the heavy rainfall of last September when the Gota Fría left millions of litres of fresh water and silt in the lagoon and the subsequent episodes of heavy rains which have brought yet more water run-off and silt into the saline water, there is no hiding from the fact that this current situation is the result of a complex series of actions over many years which have resulted in the agricultural sector of the Campo de Cartagena allowing massive volumes of untreated water containing nitrates and fertilizers to run into the lagoon over a period of years.Click here to read a detailed background document explaining the problems facing the lagoon
Whatever the cause, the data collected on the 25th May show that the level of oxygen has suddenly dropped from 7.25 to 5.88 milligrams per litre, a fall of nearly 20%. The lack of oxygen in the water resulted in the deaths of thousands of fish from anoxia (lack of oxygen) in October of 2019.
The regional government has asked for permission from the national government to trial a new type of technology which helps to oxygenate the water to prevent a repeat episode of anoxia and is currently waiting for a response to its request. The last contact from the national government, was according to the regional minister, via the government delegate to the region, the highest representative of the national government here in Murcia, who said on the 14th May that an answer would be given “in around 15 days’ time”.
Transparency in the water has fallen to 2.21 metres (last week the measurement was 3) and the turbidity is 3.18 (1.78 the previous week). This is due to the increased presence of algal growth in the water, which takes the light away from the sea grass growing on the bottom of the lagoon. When the light is obscured, the grass dies and then rots, leading to the blackish deposits of sludge which are currently being pulled from the water by teams of manual cleaners working along the fringes of the lagoon and the foam seen on the beaches last week. This in turn, affects other parameters and leads to the death of the marine life which live in the seagrass.
The salinity level is now at 39.26, below the 44 to 45 grams that would be habitual at this time of year, and which represents an “important risk” according to the scientific community overseeing the health of the Mar Menor.
The chlorophyll level has fallen from 2.76 milligram of chlorophyll per cubic metre of water to 0.71, a measurement reported as “being the only good news”.
However, the biggest problem is the rising water temperature which has now reached 25 degrees and is propelling the growth of the algae, which in turn, will worsen the turbidity and visibility readings yet further in the weeks to come.There is a major risk that large areas of the Mar Menor will become green, as they did three years ago.
By the middle of the week the regional minister was on the ropes, admitting that the lack of oxygen was a major problem and it was reported in the regional Spanish press that only the strong winds this week had prevented another episode of anoxia.
Friday is World Environment Day and the Plataforma SOS Mar Menor has held a virtual protest online, posting comments from readers of all nationalities about the condition of the Mar Menor.
ANSE and the World Wildlife Fund have also chosen this same day to launch a new report on the "lamentable" condition of the lagoon, divers documenting the deterioration of the lagoon over the last few months. The video is entitled “El Mar Menor se convierte en una enorme sopa verde”, or the Mar Menor becomes a big green soup and can be seen above.
As has been said many times the problems are so complex that isolating out one in particular is difficult, but amongst the proposed solutions for dealing with the aeration of the Mar Menor are the following:
- Inject air; as mentioned above, trials for a system to inject air by pumping oxygen through micro-perforation pipes installed in the area of Lo Pagán in the municipality of San pedro del Pinatar are currently waiting for licensing.
- Use the Salinas of Marchamalo and San Pedro del Pinatar to help balance the salinity of the lagoon and counteract the impact of fresh water.
- Use the subterranean Quaternary aquifer beneath the Campo de Cartagena to move non-contaminated water, pumping and aerating.
- It has been suggested that the golas, the water channels between the Mar Menor and Mediterranean could create a greater interchange of waters, although this option has been ruled out several times due to the many complexities it raises.
Next week chiringuitos will start to open on beaches as the region celebrates a Bank Holiday on Tuesday for Region of Murcia Day and the beaches fill with visitors, so cleaning teams have been hard at work all week attempting to minimise the impact of the algal bloom and conditioning the beaches.
But nobody is under any illusions that the "complicated" situation of the Mar Menor will continue as the weather warms up and should the oxygen levels continue to drop next week as they have done this week, there may be another episode of dead fish on the beaches. Hopefully it won´t happen.
Tourism
Cartagena resumes lifeguard services from 8th June:Services on the Mediterranean coast are to be re-enforced in anticipation of increased demand. Click for article
This year the problems in the Mar Menor are likely to drive increased numbers of bathers onto the Mediterranean coastal beaches of the region and Cartagena is fortunate to have both beaches within the Mar Menor circle and many other coastal beaches on la Manga del Mar Menor and all along its wild coastline from Cabo de Palos along the coast to la Azohía and Isla Plana including the stunning Calblanque regional park which has some stunning wild coves.
This year additional resources will offer protection in Isla Plana and La Azohía in anticipation of increased demand and the regional government has confirmed that a bus service will run for Calblanque beaches this year again, starting in July once the state of emergency has concluded.
This has deliberately been left until the last topic as it has been endlessly in the news all week, the biggest problem being the lack of concrete information about the forthcoming summer relating to travel restrictions, although this is obviusly one of the biggest areas of concern for second home owners and foreign visitors wanting to come to Spain.
Below is an article written this week which is being reproduced pretty much in full as it basically says everything.
This week a lot of confusion has been generated by the extension of the state of emergency, reports of low or no deaths in Spain, the opening of borders in other European countries and contradictory media reports of what various Spanish ministers have and haven´t said.
As things stand today:
Spain is currently closed to ALL foreign tourists
From June 15th the Balearic and Canary Islands will be opening up for tourist flights but the mainland will remain closed with no internal movement permitted even for Spanish residents other than for essential reasons.
Schengen frontiers are closed until 15th June but this may yet be extended.
From June 22nd the mainland will enter the "new normality" and internal movement between regions is expected to be permitted so from this date onwards large numbers of second home owners are expected to make their way to coastal areas of Spain from the cities of the interior.
From 22nd June package tourism resumes in the offshore islands.Air Europa resumes flights to Canary and Balearic islands from 22nd June: Flights to the islands are available via Alicante airport. Click for article. TUI is also taking German package tourists to the islands from the 22nd.
From July 1st Spain will open to receive foreign tourists from the EU, UK and Schengen areas and international flights will resume. Visitors will not be expected to quarantine (still to be 100% confirmed). A date has yet to be confirmed for flights from other nations outside of these areas.
On Monday the exterior minister reported that options were being considered for tourists entering the country to replace the compulsory quarantine. At the moment no concrete measures have been agreed, although various options are being considered including taking temperatures, filling a in a form and giving contract tracing details, taking a rapid test etc.
Other EU countries are starting to list which nationalities are permitted to enter their countries as they re-open. Greece will not accept UK or Spanish tourists before the beginning of July. Germany this week joined them citing Spain's current quarantine restrictions:Spain remains off-limits for Germans as country lifts travel restrictions;Entry and quarantine restrictions currently prevent other EU nations and UK nationals from entering Spain other than for essential reasons. Click for article . Whether Spain will impose any of its own restrictions is NOT YET KNOWN although this week the tourism minister has made it very clear that Spain was expecting to only welcome reciprocal visitors at a similar point as this country in the evolution of the virus. This is important for UK travellers given the current level of deaths and new cases in the UK and the 14 day quarantine imposed by the UK gov. on returning travellers.
On Friday Brussels recommended opening internal EU borders at the end of June: The EU is attempting to sort out the chaos and conflict caused by individual governments making their own decisions and made this recommendation on Friday. Click to read article
So this is what happened on Thursday. Have a good week and thank you for supporting this product:
Spanish borders with France and Portugal will re-open June 22nd…oh no they won´t….
Today has been a bit like a pantomime except that it’s not funny
Frustrating indecision continues to damage the chances that Spain will “capture ” foreign tourists this summer, conflicting information from government ministers continuing to generate nothing but frustration as decisions about when borders will open and what type of controls will be in place for those who would like to visit Spain this summer still hang in the air.
With tourism accounting for 12% of GDP and the country welcoming 80 million visitors annually, it’s an important topic.
It’s understandable that there should be fear of re-opening the borders and possibly undoing all the good work that has been done, and fear is visible every time we step out into the streets, as although we all don our masks and try to live life as normal, fear is tangible as passers-by swiftly side-step in order to avoid physical contact, avert their eyes when trolleys accidentally scrape in a supermarket and plaster our hands with gel if we’ve inadvertently touched a door handle, handrail or pay button whilst exiting the car park.
Nobody wants a second wave and there is genuine concern in many quarters that the arrival of tourists from other cities in Spain and certainly from abroad, could bring new cases to areas which have sacrificed much in order to combat the pandemic, starting the whole cycle off again. What’s going to happen in the autumn if there is a second wave is one of the most commonly expressed worries amongst businesses who are only just starting to recover from the last brutal lockdown which has left many of us hanging by a slim financial thread which could easily break should a second lockdown be necessary this autumn.
But the pressure from businesses in the hostelry sector is overwhelming, restaurants, bars, hotels, those working in the leisure tourism sector in all areas of activity clamouring for borders to re-open and foreign tourists to come to Spain this summer and “save the summer campaign.”
The decisions taken by “competing countries” for summer tourist visitors such as Italy which opened its borders yesterday, or Greece and Croatia who intend to open on 15th June has sparked a certain panic in Spain, the hostelry sector terrified that holidaymakers will abandon Spain for alternative destinations, but the Government seems incapable of choosing a path and sticking to it, one minister contradicting another, often within minutes of an announcement being made.
Thursday morning is a clear example of this.
This morning the minister for industry, tourism and commerce, Reyes Maroto, gave a press breakfast for foreign correspondents during which she stated that the borders with neighbouring France and Portugal would be re-opened on 22nd June when the state of emergency was lifted, giving freedom of movement between the three countries. This is something that the regions of Galicia and Extremadura have been pressuring for, keen to reactivate their tourism businesses. She explained that there would “probably be no compulsory quarantine for travellers arriving from these countries”, although admitted that this measure “had not yet been formally approved.”
Quarantine restrictions would be lifted on a gradual basis, she said, based on reciprocal agreement with other countries and taking into consideration the epidemiological situation of those nations, that is to say, if they are in a “similar position to that of Spain in terms of virus control”.
She was, however, unable to give any detail of how this interchange would work, and explain how French and Portuguese tourists would be able to enter and move about, given that flights to the mainland are restricted until July 1st. It was also unclear whether this would permit tourists from for example, the UK, driving down through France and entering via the road network.Would they be permitted to enter via France for “non-essential reasons” such as tourism?
At the moment the borders are closed for any traffic other than merchant or essential travel, a control which has been in place since 17th March. The final extension of state of emergency will now conclude on 21st June, after which time a new decree must be issued if borders are to remain closed or any controls at all stay in place, as once the state of emergency concludes, the powers of the Government to control movement, also conclude. For this a new document is being prepared which will be presented to cabinet on Tuesday.
The foreign correspondents did their job and within minutes headlines were going out all over the world announcing the “good news” that Spain was re-opening its borders with France and Portugal from 22nd June.
However, shortly afterwards, the Government issued a “note of clarification” stating that exterior movement “could be extended beyond the conclusion of the state of emergency”. The date of 22nd June was only “tentative” it said.
But “tentative” wasn´t the word chosen by the Portuguese government who swiftly issued their own clarification of the situation saying that any decision to open the border with Portugal was theirs to make and would be made by them, not Spain. The Portugese exterior minister, Augusto Santos Silva, expressed his “surprise” at the announcement, " Portugal will decide whether or not it opens his borders", he said.
We were told that clarification would follow defining the limitations and clarifying what the procedures would be for the admittance of foreign tourists, ie would they have to undergo any form of testing, would their movements be registered in any way for contact tracing, etc and more importantly, would limitations be placed on the countries from which travellers could come. At the moment this clarification has still not been issued, although on Monday we had further indications of what “could” happen at airports, including Covid testing
Yesterday transport minister, José Luis Ábalos, announced that legislation establishing the protocols which must be observed by airlines carrying tourists would be published “soon”.
But still we have no firm idea of when or what. So those attempting to book still can´t do so with absolute certainty.
To confuse matters further, both the ministers for transport and tourism have now said that regions exiting phase 3 before the 1st July can welcome foreign tourists from June 22nd “if they can do so within hygienic conditions”, so flights are now being offered to the regions most likely to meet these conditions, ie the Balearic and Canary islands, both of which are already in phase 3.
Presumably their statement that “any” region could do so means that technically any region could open its doors for foreign tourism before the 1st July…..the official date on which Spain re-opens for tourists, but would quarantine controls still be in place? Would there be tourism flights before the 1st July? Would a family driving through France be permitted to enter Spain and drive across the country to a coastal area such as Murcia through several regions?
Quarantine controls we have been told, conclude when the state of emergency concludes, on the 21st June. So what is going to happen for the period between 22nd June and 1st July?
And British second-home owners remain understandably confused by all of this. Social media this week has been full of confused potential holiday makers trying to clarify what is going on; can we drive to Spain through France before the 1st July? Is it guaranteed that we can get in to Spain if we book a flight now? If we book a flight now and then Spain says we can´t come in will we be entitled to a refund? Now that the UK has imposed a 14 day quarantione will we have to quarantine after coming to Spain for a holiday? If we fail a Covid test at a Spanish airport will we be sent home without having a holiday? Will we have to do a test before flying?
British PM a fat lot of help
The UK public are quite accustomed to question dodging by politicians. Asked at the Downing Street briefing relating to the new quarantine restrictions in the UK whether he would recommend people in the UK book foreign holidays, Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the public to “follow Foreign Office guidance” (which advises against travel other than for essential reasons). "We've got to knock this virus on the head," he said. Ok, so is that no then.????
“A similar position to that of Spain in terms of virus control”.
This is the killer phrase which is leaving everything up in the air. On Tuesday the tourism minister sparked off a wave of headlines in the UK media that British tourists would not be able to travel to Spain in the early part of the summer when she said, “we are studying implementing secure routes with other countries that are at the same epidemiological level as ourselves,” following the thought processes suggested by the EU that countries should seek to establish “green corridors” or secure “travel bubbles” through reciprocal arrangements with other countries to open up travel.
"Regarding the United Kingdom, there have been talks with tour operators but British data still have to improve, because it's important to ensure that the person comes well and then returns well."
The tourism minister said that "as soon as conditions improved in the UK", Spain would be ready to receive British citizens "with the same hospitality as ever".
But at the moment, although the EU has issued recommendations, there is little co-ordination, so although the Spanish tourism minister has stated again this week, that “we have to avoid that each member state unilaterally decides that it is a safe destination, “ there IS no one body doing that on behalf of the world, so at the moment each nation is being left to make this decision for themselves, including Spain.
Let’s be honest, the UK is knocking on the door of 40,000 with a steadily rising fatalities rate and Spain has only declared one death in the last 3 days, so is likely that Spain will view the countries as being on an even footing?.
So we are now in June, Spain is supposed to be opening its mainland to foreign tourists from 1st July, yet we STILL don´t know under what conditions, who will be allowed in, whether they will have to undergo a testing process or not, and whether they will be monitored in any way.
So far we are being told there will be no quarantine, but as the days pass by and bookings are made for other countries, pressure from the hostelry sector continues for firm decisions to be made.
And the only certainty is that AT THE MOMENT British tourists can´t enter mainland Spain until 1st July.
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