No more quarantine for vaccinated Spain-UK travellers

ANYONE travelling to the UK from one of its 'amber list' countries will not have to quarantine from July 19 onwards – provided they have had their complete Covid vaccine, says British transport secretary Grant Schapps.

Spain – along with France, Greece and Italy – is an 'amber' country, other than the Balearic Islands, which are 'green' and do not require quarantine in any case.

Travellers will still require an approved PCR test – one to be taken a maximum of 72 hours before arrival and another no later than the second day after entering Britain – even if they are fully vaccinated, but will not have to take a third test on day eight as is the case at present, and no quarantine is necessary unless they test positive, which is unlikely if they have been immunised.

'Fully vaccinated' is defined as at least 14 days having passed since the second jab, or since the single shot if it is a Janssen vaccine as this does not require two.

This means that if a person is inoculated for the second time on the very day 'amber-country' quarantine is lifted – July 19 – they would still have to self-isolate in the UK if they entered the country before August 2, when the 14 days from their complete immunisation had passed.

Even with travellers between the UK and 'amber' countries having to factor in the cost of two PCR tests to be able to enter Britain – independently of any required for entry to the country they are visiting from or returning from – this is still music to the ears of all those in Spain who rely heavily upon international tourism for their living.

Although holidaymakers from all over the world visit Spain year-round – not just in summer – the sun-seeking tourists during the hottest months make up a huge portion of those travelling to coastal areas and the islands; the vast majority of those from abroad are from northern Europe, and Brits continue to be the most numerous in these parts from approximately May to September, especially in July and August.

An estimated 400,000 British nationals live permanently in Spain and about half that number again of Spanish nationals live in the UK, but have not been able to see their families due to the quarantine issues.

This has particularly grated on young Spanish adults living and working in Britain who are used to heading back to the family nest in summer for their annual break, but have been stuck in the UK instead.

In the Comunidad Valenciana alone, about 79,000 residents are UK citizens, nearly 70,000 of whom live in the province of Alicante, around 8,000 in that of Valencia and roughly 1,200 in the province of Castellón.

The same region gets about nine million tourists a year from outside Spain, of whom approximately three million are from the UK – not only travellers with 'no strings attached', but also family and friends of existing Brits in residence, and those who have a holiday home in one of the three provinces.

And the number multiplies when added to the southern region of Andalucía, coastal Catalunya, Murcia, and to the Canary and Balearic Islands where the overwhelming majority of holidaymakers are from the UK, outstripping the total from Germany, which is also a key tourism market for the latter two regions.

First quarantine-free travel since early 2020 

For over a year now, people entering Britain from Spain – including returning holidaymakers resident in the UK – has been required to self-isolate at the same address; until late December, this was for 14 days, then it reduced to 10, before being cut to five if the visitor or returner took an approved PCR test at his or her own cost, which was negative.

Until after Christmas, testing on arrival was not possible, meaning a person who had just entered the UK would have to wait until their quarantine was over before finding out if they were infected or not.

More recently, travelling to Britain from an 'amber' country has meant taking an approved PCR test not more than 72 hours before arrival, another within two days of arrival, and either spending 10 days in isolation or paying for a third PCR to de-quarantine after five days if all three were negative.

Incomers from 'red list' countries are required to make their own way to one of a number of specific airports, where they are taken to a government 'quarantine hotel' and not permitted to leave their room until their isolation is over; all of this, including three PCR tests, comes at a cost per head of £1,750 (about €2,013).

Countries which rely on tourism from the UK are terrified of finding themselves on its 'red list', although Grant Schapps has warned that increasing contagion rates in 'green' or 'amber' nations can lead to their being bumped up a colour.

Schapps says there are no plans to change the system for 'red' countries in the foreseeable future.