Spain to Require Covid Test or Vaccination From China Arrivals

Alonso Soto
·1 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Spain will require passengers arriving from China to provide a negative Covid test or a certificate proving full vaccination amid increasing concern about a renewed surge of the virus.

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The government in Madrid also wants a European Union crisis-response meeting at which the bloc should agree to demand evidence of full vaccination from Chinese arrivals, Health Minister Carolina Darias said Friday at a news conference in Madrid.

Spain joined Italy, both major destinations for Chinese tourists, in imposing tighter travel restrictions after Beijing began unwinding China’s zero Covid policy and easing curbs.

“A major concern lies in the possibility of new variants appearing in China that have not been controlled,” Darias told reporters.

“It’s very important to bear in mind that as of January 8, the current Chinese restrictions on travelers will cease to be in force, so we can expect a significant increase in passengers from China worldwide,” she added.

In 2019, more than 700,000 tourists with Chinese residency visited Spain. Numbers dropped sharply to 134,612 in 2020 and 29,131 in 2021, according to the Spanish statistics institute.

(Updates with additional health minister comments; a previous version was corrected to show arrivals must provide a test or vaccination proof not both)

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