Northern European holidaymakers 'may soon return to Spain'

It could be that before May is out, German holidaymakers will be allowed to travel to Spain to stay in the villas and apartments they own on its coasts – especially in the Balearic Islands, where they are the largest national community of second-home owners.

This would involve 'procedures of commitment and responsibility' and 'health and safety guarantees', says Ábalos.

“It's an issue we're going to be approaching, given the significant number of Germans who live in, or own property, in Spain,” he explains.

Paving the way for German tourists to return to Spain is among the lockdown relaxation scenarios the government is currently looking into – and the transport ministry will play a key rôle in this, since air and sea travel facilities have reduced to the absolute minimum during the national quarantine and will need to be up and running sufficiently as soon as holidaymakers from abroad are able to return to the country.

Germany is one of the key countries in the process, but will not be the only one – in several northern European nations, the Covid-19 pandemic has not been nearly as bad as elsewhere on the continent.

Even though Germany has certainly felt its effects, its national death toll from the condition is much lower as a percentage of the population – the reasons for which are currently being researched.

The Balearic Islands are keen to find ways to bring northern Europeans back to their coasts, since those living in colder countries above the Pyrénées make up the bulk of the region's tourism industry, which would suffer greatly in late spring and summer if Spanish nationals alone were left to hold it up.

Meanwhile, the Canary Islands is seeking a significant relaxation on lockdown rules, which could include foreign tourism.

Its argument is that, as a region, the number of Covid-19 cases among its population is relatively low and, as an archipelago, patients on one island cannot infect healthy residents on another.

Also, the Canarian government says, it has greater public health problems linked to obesity, cardiovascular disorders, high blood pressure and diabetes, none of which are helped by the sedentary lifestyle residents are having to lead as a result of staying at home and indoors.

Aragón, too, wants to see the rules slackened a bit, given its regional geography: Around 80% of its villages are home to fewer than 30 people, and distances between municipalities are rarely walkable.

This said, Aragón is one of Spain's more rural regions which has urged tourists from elsewhere, particularly Catalunya and Madrid, not to travel there – its population is heavily biased towards pensioners, many of whom are elderly, putting them in the higher risk bracket for survival if they were to contract Covid-19.

Not counting, of course, the 101-year-old woman from Biescas in the Pyrénéen province of Huesca, who is now at home and completely cured of the condition.