Spain Bans Flights from Brazil and South Africa in Attempt to Contain New Covid Strains

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Spain is the latest country to announce a ban – as of Wednesday, February 2nd, – on travelers coming from Brazil due to the risk of contagion by a new coronavirus strain.

Flights from South Africa will also be restricted and only people with Spanish nationality or a residence permit will be allowed to enter the European country – the same applies to flights from Brazil – announced government spokesperson María Jesús Montero on Tuesday, February 2nd.

Spain continues to allow entry to passengers with stopovers in the country, but there are restrictions: travelers may not leave the airport and may only be in transit for a maximum of 24 hours.

Last week, France announced it would ban entry to travelers from outside the European Union due to the rise in its number of Covid-19 cases. On the same day Germany also barred entry to travelers coming from Brazil.

Before these countries, others had already suspended flights to and from Brazil and established a ban on entry or quarantines to travelers who had recently been in the country due to the Brazilian coronavirus strain, first detected in Manaus.

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