Spain imposes 10-day quarantine on travellers from India amid COVID-19 surge

Amid a deadly outbreak of COVID-19, Spain on April 27 said that it will impose a 10-day quarantine on all travellers arriving from India. While speaking at a news conference, government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero informed that the measure will take effect on Wednesday and will apply to people who travelled via third countries since there are no direct flights between India and Spain. 

Montero said, “This is a measure which our country has already adopted towards passengers from countries where a virus variant has been found”. 

It is worth noting that Spain has also imposed a 10-day quarantine on passengers arriving from Brazil, Peru and Colombia as well as nine nations in Africa, including South Africa and Mozambique. However, Spain’s chief epidemiologist said that there was no reason to be currently concerned about the spread of the Indian variant in Spain as more than 90 per cent of new cases detected are the so-called British variant. Further, Spain’s Foreign Ministry also recommended that Spanish citizens currently in India return home as soon as possible.

Restriction on Indian travellers 

Germany, France, the UK, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Italy, Netherlands and Australia have also imposed restrictions or travel bans on arrival from India due to the emergence of a highly contagious variant of the coronavirus that is sweeping across the country. Bangladesh has also restricted the movement of citizens by shutting down borders for two weeks. The US, on the other hand, has advised citizens to not travel to India even after getting fully vaccinated.

The action from these countries came after India witnessed an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases. Several passengers in foreign country airports had also tested positive for the virus making it a matter of concern for international authorities. The current virus mutant that India is battling with is spreading faster compared to last year. India is continuously reporting the highest number of COVID-19 cases as the second wave of the virus is storming upon the country. With a higher number of fresh COVID-19 cases, the fatality rate has also increased in the country. 

(Image: AP/PTI)