On Sunday, June 21st, 2020, after three months of the Coronavirus lockdown, Spain lifts its national state of emergency status and reopens its borders to welcome tourists from Britain and 26 European countries. Spain’s 47 million residents can now travel freely across their country and abroad.
This day has been a long time coming as the Spanish struggle to keep their heads above water, due to the foreboding lockdown they suffered over the last three months. Unlike some of their neighbours, Spain’s government implemented the strictest lockdown, imposing a complete shutdown of local businesses across the country, without the ability to support its citizens sufficiently, financially. Many small business owners have not been able to sustain this complete halt and went belly hop. Others are struggling to keep their heads above water and many, especially in tourist areas such as the Costa del Sol, have been desperately praying for the day borders would reopen to welcome the tourists, their bread and butter.
The day has finally arrived. On Sunday, June 21st, 2020, the Spanish government lifted its national state of emergency and opened its borders. Finally, back to the “New Normal”. The country is back in business and ready to welcome tourists once again. There are new regulations in place to secure the safety of its citizens and visitors. Travellers are submitted to three checks as they walk through the airport.
The first check is to fill in a form that provides the Spanish government with contact details to ensure visitors can be reached during their stay in Spain, with a few questions to determine whether or not visitors had COVID-19 or were around people with the coronavirus. The next check is a temperature check. Finally, the third check is a visual check carried out by doctors. In such case whereby a visitor does not pass one or more of the checks, they are sent to the hospital for a more thural checkup.
BBC News said: “Spain usually attracts some 80 million tourists a year, providing 12% of the country’s GDP.” The Associated Press reports: “there was only a trickle of travellers at Madrid-Barajas Airport as the travel restrictions were lifted, a stark contrast to a normal June day when it would be crowded.”
“It’s very special, it’s three and a half months since I’ve been here!” a Swiss woman told BBC News at the airport. She lives in Madrid and travelled home on a flight from Zurich.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that hygiene controls must be followed and had this warning: “The virus can return and it can hit us again in a second wave, and we have to do whatever we can to avoid that at all costs.” Spain is ready to open its doors and has a very strict protocol in place that enables its visitors to enjoy their holiday as they always have, without the worry of catching the virus.
