Laurence Dollimore
THE UK Foreign Office has advised against travel to parts of Spain affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In an update to its travel advice, it has advised against ‘all but essential travel to the regions of Madrid, La Rioja and the municipalities of La Bastida, Vitoria and Miranda de Ebro’.
It comes as the number of cases in Spain is nearing 4,000 with some 90 killed.
The advice adds: “The Spanish government has suspended all incoming flights from Italy until March 25. The Spanish government has also asked people to avoid unnecessary travel and to consider remote working where possible.
“Authorities in the most affected regions (Madrid, the Basque Country, La Rioja, Catalonia, and Castilla y León) are putting in place extraordinary measures such as the temporary closure of schools, public sports centres, theatres and day care centres for the elderly due to an increase in coronavirus cases.
“The affected regions are prohibiting gatherings which involve more than 1000 attendees. All educational centres, including nurseries, schools and universities will close for 15 days or until further notice.
“In other regions, individual schools are being closed where there are suspected cases of the virus. National museums in Madrid (Museo Nacional del Prado, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza) are closed until further notice. Some local festivals such as Las Fallas in Valencia and sporting events have been postponed. You should follow local authority websites for further information.”
Read the full advice here.
