Wales joins rest of UK in imposing 14 day quarantine rules for those travelling back from Spain
Anyone returning to Wales from Spain will have to self-isolate for 14 days from today.
The country is no longer on the so-called “travel corridor” list which means those arriving into England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from Spain will now need to self-isolate.
The move follows a significant change over the last week in both the level and pace of change in confirmed coronavirus cases.
People already in Spain including the Canary and Balearic Island can stay for the remainder of their holiday but will have to self-isolate for two weeks upon return.
In a statement published late last night, Wales Health Minister Vaughan Gething said: “Earlier this afternoon I attended a meeting of ministers from all 4 UK countries to consider the public health risk posed by an increasing prevalence of COVID-19 in parts of Spain.
The Ministerial Group agreed today to remove all of Spain, including its islands, from the list of countries exempt from our health measures at the border with implementation to take effect at the beginning of Sunday, 26 July 2020.
I have therefore made an urgent amendment to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (Wales) Regulations 2020, meaning anyone who arrives from Spain (or who has been in Spain during the past 14 days) will be required to quarantine for 14 days as of tomorrow (Sunday).”
I took part in a 4 Nations ministerial call this afternoon to consider the increase in Covid-19 cases in Spain. As a result I have amended @WelshGovernment regulations from midnight tonight to reintroduce quarantine for travellers from Spain.
— Vaughan Gething MS (@vaughangething) July 25, 2020
A UK Government spokesperson said: “The Joint Biosecurity Centre together with Public Health England have updated their coronavirus assessments of Spain based on the latest data.As a result, Spain has been removed from the lists of countries from which passengers arriving in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are exempt from the need to self-isolate.”
