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Spain insists it’s safe to visit
The Spanish Tourist Office has insisted the destination is safe, after the UK government took if off the travel corridor list and advised against all but essential travel to the whole country.
Javier Piñanes,Director of the Spanish Tourist Office in the UK, said: "Outbreaks in Spain are highly localised and our regions are taking swift, decisive and forceful control measures. The outbreaks are mainly concentrated in two autonomous communities (Aragon and Catalonia) that accumulate approximately 60% of the total cases.
"In the last seven days, 10 people have sadly died across the whole of Spain due to Coronavirus however most holiday destinations have not reported any recent deaths and have low incident rates. Likewise, the increase in cases in Spain is not resulting in a significant rise in hospitalisations. In the last week, there have been 25 ICU admissions across the whole country.
"Looking specifically at the infection rate over the last seven days (data recorded 30 July 2020), many of Spain’s regions report figures well below accumulated rates in other European countries where travel bans have not been imposed. For example, the rate of accumulated cases in the Canary Islands is just 2.4 per 100,000 people and in the Balearic Islands it is 11.3.
"Work is being carried out between the Spanish and British authorities so that decisions are made or adjusted based exclusively on epidemiological criteria. There are many popular destinations in Spain visited by British tourists, (such as Andalucía, which includes Costa del Sol, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, the region of Valencia and many of Spain’s northern regions such as Asturias, Galicia and Cantabria) which have infection rates similar or below those reported in the United Kingdom.
"Our tourism industry is well prepared to receive visitors and a number of measures have been implemented so that tourism can continue in the most safe, secure and hygienic manner. The sector has made a huge effort to adapt over recent weeks and has managed to implement effective measures to guarantee safety."
By Lisa James, Deputy Editor (UK)
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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