Spain restricts entry of flights from Brazil and South Africa due to new COVID-19 strains

THE Spanish government has restricted entry into the country from Brazil and South Africa in an attempt to halt the advance of COVID-19 variants.

The decision was taken this Tuesday by the Council of Ministers who have said that “the only flights to Spain allowed from Brazil and South Africa will be those carrying passengers who are either citizens or residents of Spain or Andorra, or passengers in transit with stopovers of under 24 hours who will not be able to leave the airport transit area.”

This measure will come into force today, Wednesday, at 9 am., and will last for 14 days, until 9 am., on Wednesday, February17.

A measure that, according to the ministry, ‘may be extended depending on the evolution of the pandemic and the coordination of measures at EU level’.

The announcement comes as the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic continues to produce new epidemiological records across the Spanish territory.

This Tuesday Spain recorded its deadliest day of the third wave after losing 724 people to coronavirus in 24 hours, the worst figures in Spain since the height of the first wave, when 950 people died on April 2 of last year.

Regions like Andalucia mirror these deadly numbers with 106 people to have died from coronavirus in the region between Monday and Tuesday, the deadliest 24-hour period of the entire pandemic.

Latest figures have revealed that there have now been 59,805 COVID-19 deaths in the country.