OBSOLETE COVID THREAD Dealing with Covid on the Camino: Where to Turn

[ttadeya]

Hello everyone,

I'm doing the Camino Frances this May and I have been reading a lot about Covid and the Camino on this forum. So far I haven't found anything about where to go if you do catch Covid somewhere along the way. Since I am definitely going, I would just like to know what to do in that circumstance. You cannot sleep in albergues with Covid and it wouldn't be responsible to take a taxi somewhere away from the Camino with Covid. So, where can you go?

 

[Anniesantiago]

This is something I also need to know in case anyone in my group gets sick along the way. Is there a designated place travelers can go to quarantine? Is quarantine still required or can they just stay in a hotel room until they're feeling better? What is the procedure? Rebekah? Ivar? Anyone? I see the thread posted by tominrim. Is there anything more current?

 

[trecile]

There's a thread from last summer about this question.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/what-happens-if-you-test-positive-in-spain.70903/#post-942567

If you test positive on Galicia you will probably be eligible for free Covid insurance from the Xunta. There is a phone number to call when you test positive, and presumably you will receive instructions.
Information in this thread:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/free-covid-insurance-from-the-xunta-in-galicia.72548/

 

[Kathar1na]

What @trecile says. This is actually the only piece of reliable and consistent information that I have seen in nearly two years now as the answer to the question about what to do and where to stay when you catch Covid-19 in Spain: Immediately phone the regional Health Authority and take it from there.

See also https://travelsafe.spain.info/en/what-happens-if-i-become-sick-in-spain/ who advise to inform the local healthcare authorities immediately via the information helpline of the region you are in. This is a Spanish government website.

When you click on information helpline you can see the phone number for each Spanish region. This is a website of the Spanish Ministry for Health.

 

[trecile]

This article may also be helpful.

Q&A: What to do in Spain if you think you have Covid or have come into contact with a positive case

Maybe you have symptoms or you discover that you have been in contact with someone who just tested positive to the coronavirus, so what to do you next?

www.thelocal.es

 

[CA_Pilgrim]

Hello everyone,

I'm doing the Camino Frances this May and I have been reading a lot about Covid and the Camino on this forum. So far I haven't found anything about where to go if you do catch Covid somewhere along the way. Since I am definitely going, I would just like to know what to do in that circumstance. You cannot sleep in albergues with Covid and it wouldn't be responsible to take a taxi somewhere away from the Camino with Covid. So, where can you go?

Thanks for posting and thanks for the responses! I've been thinking a lot about this myself. I'm not so much concerned about hospitalization and/or medical coverage (though the thought did cross my mind), but How and where do you isolate? I'll check out the links in the previous comments and hopefully get an answer. Assuming the answer is there, I'll copy them into my ONENOTE folder on the Camion so I have access to the information from my phone anywhere in the world.

Oh, BTW, I'm starting out on May 10 from SJPP. perhaps we'll bump into each other on the Camino!

 

[OzAnnie]

Skimming through this ., I also thought that many of us have travel insurance with Covid Cover / generally if you are hurt or get sick while on camino ., one would contact his/her insurer to inform them. Possibly to ensure you are complying with the insurers requirements; I would ask them/ they may arrange transport to a designated health covered place for quarantine.

Also if anyone is living in spain or nearby & test positive /& have family who could pick them up by vehicle and take them home - this would be best. (If you don’t need immediate hospitalisation that is ),

Buen camino.

 

[CA_Pilgrim]

OK, now I'm frustrated. You would think there would be a simple answer. I clicked on all the links and I'm still as perplexed as when I started.

Just to clarify, I'm not interested in hospitalization or even doctor/medical coverage. I'm pretty sure that being healthy with no high risk comorbidities, fully (2X vaccinated (Pfizer) and boosted (Moderna), I am low risk for serious health issues as a result of contracting any of the current strains of COVID.

As a responsible individual with financial means, how do I self-isolate? Do I simply tell the hotel I have COVID and want to self-isolate in one of their rooms? Can/will they reject me for wanting to do so? As I'm thinking this thorough, My gut reaction is to simply make a reservation for however long is necessary without telling them (for fear of rejection) unless there are some Spanish laws/regulations that prevent them from rejecting my reservation. Then utilize room service for the stuff I need.

 

[C clearly]

You would think there would be a simple answer.

Why would you expect that? We are dealing with an active pandemic, with many unknowns, various jurisdictions, and a time that is months in the future. Two months ago we had not heard of Omicron. Now it has drastically changed the situation - hopefully in a positive way. There IS no simple answer.

 

[Kathar1na]

OK, now I'm frustrated. You would think there would be a simple answer. I clicked on all the links and I'm still as perplexed as when I started.

I can understand your frustration. I can even share it. But that's the way it is in the country you are going to visit as a tourist/pilgrim.

During the summer, the big vacation centres on the Coasts and the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands had designated hotels; maybe they still have them; there is not much publicity about it. The Autonomous Region of Galicia and the Autonomous Region of Castilla y Leon had one or two designated albergues and designated hotels. The Madrid region had at least one designated hotel for Covid-19 infected tourists who were not sick enough to be hospitalised. Spanish tourists were often allowed to return home in private cars but had to sign a paper - or they simply went home. Who knows. They probably didn't advertise it.

There are no official lists of hotels and albergues for infected foreign tourists. You phone the health department of the region where you are and follow their advice. This is what they expect you to do. I can't remember the wording on the SpTH form. It may be even what you signed up to when you applied for the SpTH QR entry code to Spain.

 

[Kathar1na]

I can't remember the wording on the SpTH form. It may be even what you signed up to when you applied for the SpTH QR entry code to Spain.

I checked. This is the Affidavit that you sign when you apply for permission to enter Spain at a Spanish airport:

I promise that if during the 14 days after entering Spain I present symptoms of acute respiratory infection (fever, cough or breathing difficulties), I will isolate myself at home or place of residence, conducting self-monitoring of the symptoms of the coronavirus and I will contact the competent health authorities by telephone. ​

​

I agree to carry out those indications and measures that the health authorities indicate.​

​

Admittedly, a bit odd: It doesn't say anything about what you must do after your first two weeks in Spain ... Did any of you who have signed this affidavit in the past noticed this?

 

[trecile]

There are no official lists of hotels and albergues for infected foreign tourists. You phone the health department of the region where you are and follow their advice.

I think this is the most important thing to know. Probably a good idea to program the phone numbers of the health departments of the regions that you will pass through into your phone.

I checked. This is the Affidavit that you sign when you apply for permission to enter Spain at a Spanish airport:

I promise that if during the 14 days after entering Spain I present symptoms of acute respiratory infection (fever, cough or breathing difficulties), I will isolate myself at home or place of residence, conducting self-monitoring of the symptoms of the coronavirus and I will contact the competent health authorities by telephone. ​

​

I agree to carry out those indications and measures that the health authorities indicate.​

​

Admittedly, a bit odd: It doesn't say anything about what you must do after your first two weeks in Spain ... Did any of you who have signed this affidavit in the past noticed this?

That sounds like it's for returning residents of Spain.

 

[Quinranda]

Thanks for posting and thanks for the responses! I've been thinking a lot about this myself. I'm not so much concerned about hospitalization and/or medical coverage (though the thought did cross my mind), but How and where do you isolate? I'll check out the links in the previous comments and hopefully get an answer. Assuming the answer is there, I'll copy them into my ONENOTE folder on the Camion so I have access to the information from my phone anywhere in the world.

Oh, BTW, I'm starting out on May 10 from SJPP. perhaps we'll bump into each other on the Camino!

I'm also starting on May 10th!

 

[Kathar1na]

That sounds like it's for returning residents of Spain.

It's a word for word copy from step 5 of the application form that every traveller, whether Spanish, EU, USA or any other, has to fill in to obtain the QR code that you need to present before boarding a plane to Spain and at arrival at the destination airport in Spain.

 

[trecile]

Okay, we have covered what to do if you test positive for Covid while in Spain - what about Portugal?

 

[sillydoll]

We recently contacted four companies who offer guide walks in Spain. Two said that they are not offering guides walks this year beacause of Covid. (SantiagoWays was one of them). The other two will offer group walks this year.
Reuters recently reported that in Spain, the ministry also reduced the mandatory quarantine for close contacts of people who have tested positive to seven days. So, if you have a positive case in your group, you will all have to quarantine for 7 days.
However, the Local.es reported a different advisory: https://www.thelocal.es/20211221/reader-questions-do-i-have-to-quarantine-in-spain/
In early December 2021, the Spanish Health Ministry introduced new rules which stated that fully vaccinated people who came into close contact with certain positive cases had to quarantine for ten days if the person tested positive for either the Omicron, Beta or Gamma strains, whiched requires several PCRs and sequencing to be confirmed.
On Wednesday December 22nd, realising that Omicron cases made up 47 percent of new infections in the country, Spain’s Public Health Commission revised the rules again. Now, if a person is fully vaccinated and turns out to be a close contact of someone who tests positive for any variant – even Omicron – they do not have to quarantine for ten days. They should nonethless “limit their social interactions and stick to essential activities”. These rules also apply to those who’ve had one vaccine dose.
Either way, you should get tested, preferably with a PCR test as they’ve proven to be more effective than antigen tests, and it’s advisable to keep your social interactions to a minimum until you get the result.
However, if you’re unvaccinated and you’re a close contact of a positive case, you will have to quarantine for ten days in all cases.
In Catalonia, the regional government announced last Friday that from December 23rd close contacts of all positive cases and all strains would have to quarantine until they got a negative test result. They’ve since backtracked on this strict decision and will employ the same quarantine rules as Spain.
Close contact is if you’ve spent a quarter of an hour chatting closely to someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, you’re considered a close contact.
If you are a tourist or non-resident in Spain who has tested positive for Covid-19, this article explains what you should do.
You should also get in touch with your close contacts to let them know you’ve tested positive for Covid-19, and if you know which variant it is, you should also inform them of this.
According to the Spanish health protocol, self-isolation should last a minimum of ten days from the onset of symptoms, or from the positive result of the test if the person is asymptomatic

 

[Kathar1na]

If you are a tourist or non-resident in Spain who has tested positive for Covid-19, this article explains what you should do.

I had a quick look through this thelocal.es article. Concerning the question of this thread - "Getting Covid somewhere along the way - where to go? - does the article shed any new light on this question other than what has already been said? I am none the wiser because all I could find in the article is this:

If tourists or visitors develop Covid-19 symptoms while in Spain, they are required to self-isolate in their accommodation and avoid physical contact with other people. ​

​

Then they must contact the health authorities of the region they’re staying in, and based on their evaluation of the symptoms, they will ascertain whether the person in question has to take a Covid test.​

​

[List of phone numbers to call in 20 regions]​

​

If the test comes back positive, they’ll have to quarantine either at their hotel accommodation or wherever they are told to. ​

​

In the Valencia region’s case, hotels have set up self-isolation rooms for tourists who develop Covid-19 to stay in, so there is always accommodation available for them to lengthen their stay for the remainder of their quarantine.​

​

I did not see any further info for all the other regions in Spain.

​

 

[Eve Alexandra]

I had a quick look through this thelocal.es article. Concerning the question of this thread - "Getting Covid somewhere along the way - where to go? - does the article shed any new light on this question other than what has already been said? I am none the wiser because all I could find in the article is this:

If tourists or visitors develop Covid-19 symptoms while in Spain, they are required to self-isolate in their accommodation and avoid physical contact with other people. ​

​

Then they must contact the health authorities of the region they’re staying in, and based on their evaluation of the symptoms, they will ascertain whether the person in question has to take a Covid test.​

​

[List of phone numbers to call in 20 regions]​

​

If the test comes back positive, they’ll have to quarantine either at their hotel accommodation or wherever they are told to. ​

​

In the Valencia region’s case, hotels have set up self-isolation rooms for tourists who develop Covid-19 to stay in, so there is always accommodation available for them to lengthen their stay for the remainder of their quarantine.​

​

I did not see any further info for all the other regions in Spain.

​

I can’t read the linked article due to a firewall so thank you for quoting the pertinent sections.

It sounds like the local health authorities will have the information on where to go (if they don’t just tell you to stay in your hotel) if they decide you need to take a test and test positive?

So if you start getting sick and are concerned it might be Covid, find the nearest hotel, contact the local authorities, and they tell you what to do next?

If someone could cut and paste the phone numbers from the article, I’d appreciate it.

 

[Kathar1na]

If someone could cut and paste the phone numbers from the article, I’d appreciate it.

Some of the regional phone numbers in the article are out of date.

When you have finished your application for the SpTH airport code, you will get a confirmation email with a list, for all the Spanish regions, of the contact phone number that you should call when you show symptoms of acute respiratory illness, as they phrase it. These phone numbers should also be known or on display in your accommodation. Relax. It is one more thing not to worry about before departure date.

 

[Eve Alexandra]

Some of the regional phone numbers in the article are out of date.

When you have finished your application for the SpTH airport code, you will get a confirmation email with a list, for all the Spanish regions, of the contact phone number that you should call when you show symptoms of acute respiratory illness, as they phrase it. These phone numbers should also be known or on display in your accommodation. Relax. It is one more thing not to worry about before departure date.

Thank you. Relax? What’s that? I am trying to determine if I can figure out all the new rules and be ready to leave in about 6 weeks…if so I’ll purchase a ticket by the end of the weekend.

I might be a hot mess right now.