Spain Gets Ready to Welcome Tourists from 1 July

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According to reports, tourists will be able to visit Spain from 1 July without having to be in quarantine for two weeks.

During a meeting on Monday, the Spanish government reportedly said cabinet ministers made the decision to lift the mandatory coronavirus quarantine for tourists.

In March the country had to close its doors for 10 weeks to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and later imposing a two-week quarantine on overseas visitors.

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had already announced that Spain was ready to welcome foreign visitors, but did not mention if they would have to continue to stay in quarantine for two weeks or not. 

Spain is known as one of the most visited countries in the world. Tourism reportedly accounts for 12% of its GDP, employing 2.6 million people, with the Canary and Balearic archipelagos relying almost solely on tourists.

After more than a month of what is called the world’s strictest lockdown, restrictions on movement have gradually been eased, with bars in some parts of the country allowed to open their terraces last week. Museums and churches have also been allowed to reopen soon.

Madrid and Barcelona, both national epicentres of the virus, started opening up on Monday 25 May. The country’s La Liga football league will reportedly resume on 8 June.

Spain will have a 10-day period of national mourning starting on Tuesday 26 May, to pay respect to those who lost their lives due to Covid19.