EXPLAINER: Where you will need to show the COVID passport in the Costa Blanca and Valencia areas of Spain

THE EU COVID-19 certificate will be needed to access certain indoor areas in the Valencian Community from this Friday night.

The compulsory measure starts at midnight and will run for at least 30 days in the region.

Valencian President, Ximo Puig, said: “Increasing infection rates are a wake-up call that the coronavirus is still with us but the COVID passport will help generate greater trust”.

Over 2.9 million residents have downloaded the EU document.

The certificate with a QR code on it can be displayed via a phone or on a paper print-out.

A photo ID is also required to verify that the certificate holder is who they say they are.

Areas using the COVID passport will have access to a mobile app that links to a database to confirm the information on the QR code.

COVID PASSPORT AREAS:-

1. Hospitals and Care Homes:- People visiting patients and residents will require the certificate.
2. Hospitality:- All bars, restaurants, cafes, banqueting halls, and lounges that have an indoor capacity of 50 or more. Outdoor terraces are not affected.
3. Leisure: The same capacity rule applies as in hospitality for dance halls, nightclubs, and all nightlife businesses. The measure also covers ‘establishments that host exhibitions of erotic content’.
4. Catering:- Designated restaurant areas in casinos, gambling rooms, and bingo halls.
5. Events:- Indoor and outdoor events of 500 and more people, where social distancing cannot be maintained.

READ MORE:–

• Spain orders fully-vaccinated people to quarantine if they have contact with confirmed or even suspected Omicron COVID-19 cases
• Mystery of lower COVID-19 vaccination rates in expat areas of southern Costa Blanca in Spain
• British citizens will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID to enter Spain from December 1