Date Published: 17/06/2020
ARCHIVED - Close contacts of tourists with Covid will be tested says Spanish Health Minister
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Madrid airport handled more than 61 million passengers last year and the regional government wants mobile messages sent to all arrivals informing them of Covid protocols
On Tuesday Spain opens its mainland borders to tourists from within the EU and Schengen zone and although the financial rewards for the resumption of tourism are welcomed in many quarters there is also fear that imported cases from abroad will cause a resurgence of cases here in Spain.
There has been harsh criticism from some of the regional governments that tourists will only be asked to fill in a form giving contact details and pass through a temperature test, and not be subjected to any other form of testing.
On Wednesday morning the Minister for Health, Salvador Illa, gave an interview to Catalan radio station TV3 and when asked about the lack of testing for tourists explained that should a positive case of Covid be detected in a tourist, that a PCR test and an epidemiological examination of all their close contacts would be undertaken.
In addition, the Minister said that tourists may be forced to take the test in the event that they refuse, although he acknowledged that until now there has been collaboration on request.
61 million passengers used Madrid airport last year
The Region of Madrid in particular is concerned about the arrival of tourists through Barajas airport, the largest transport hub in Spain which handled over 61 million passengers last year and has suggested to the Ministry of Health that tourists arriving at Madrid Barajas-Adolfo Suárez airport receive a welcome message on their mobile phone and information from the 900 102 112 telephone service, which they should call in the eventuality that they develop symptoms compatible with Covid-19, during their stay in the region.
The message would be displayed in the original language of the tourist or in any case in English or French, so that passengers know to contact the health service of the region should they become ill with a suspected Covid case.
The regional General Directorate of Public Health is also looking at the possibility of positioning information panels located in transport networks (at the airport, buses, Metro, Cercanías), to reinforce this information, the aim being to try and detect potential imported cases as rapidly as possible.
The Minister of Health for the Madrid Region, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, has sent a letter to the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, expressing concerns about the resumption of tourist flights and requesting the government take steps to control the arrival of tourists through the airport, saying "the first cases came through tourism with the mobility of people, and that mobility is the main risk factor for the transmission of respiratory diseases, such as Covid- 19 ″.