COVID Lockdowns

[JabbaPapa]

Three additional French Départements are going into lockdown tomorrow : Nièvre, Rhône, and Aube.

 

[mspath]

Thinking of traveling from the US this year? See this New York Times article published 26/03/2021 for Various Options in European countries

 

[JabbaPapa]

A negative Covid PCR test (less than 72 hours) is now needed even if you enter Spain by land travel, except local residents (less than 30K from the border) and trans-border workers, delivery drivers, etc ...

This will be a huge inconvenience for Pilgrims starting further away than SJPP.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

This will be a huge inconvenience for Pilgrims starting further away than SJPP.

Till half May only essencial travel in a lot off European countrys.

 

[Don Camillo]

In respect of the negative PCR test 72 hours before travel/entry requirement. In the scheme of things what constitutes "inconvenience", I have been sat around doing nothing much over the last 12 months, a lot of others have had even worse situations foisted on them by Covid. That is the real inconvenience here.
But JabbaPappa is right in that the logistics of getting a negative PCR test before travel will present real issues. From my location in the West Country, UK the nearest I can get a PCR test is around 40 miles away. The tests can be completed in 24 hours but that costs £250 +, a two day test is around £150. For that you get certification that is valid for airlines/country and signed by a Dr. This is probably manageable but there is a catch. If you get an inconclusive result for whatever reason ie. because the test was not administered properly, it has to be done again. This will skewer any booked flights/travel arrangements you would have made.
I have a trip planned on backburner for early November and had looked in to how you get a PCR test which will, I am sure, be a requirement for travel then. I am pretty much resigned to getting the expensive 24 hour test which will allow "what if" time if it comes back inconclusive. It may be that there will be a more local supplier by that time.
Had my first jab yesterday, second booked in for June. Hopefully this marks the start of a return to some sort of normality, in UK at least.
Don

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Thinking of traveling from the US this year? See this New York Times article published 26/03/2021 for Various Options in European countries

Thanks, Margaret, for sharing this comprehensive article on what's going on at the moment.

 

[Pelegrin]

Here in Spain the limits of regional lockdown in Easter are the Autonomous Communities. So that, the people of Castilla y Leon (less than 2.300.000) can move inside an area of 94.000 km2 (Ireland 70.000 km2) whereas in Madrid (6.800.000) the area is 8.000 km2.
The consequence for Madrid is that the Sierra, the parks and everything whorthy to visit is packed these days.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I need to point out that the negative PCR test is a requirement for inbound land travel from France, not generally. I should have clarified that, but I'm somewhat tired today.

 

[Kathar1na]

Update 29 March 2021

Spain's general entry ban for people who live in the USA, Canada, and the UK and most other countries of the world outside of the EU/Schengen area has been prolonged again for yet another month and is now in effect until 30 April 2021, 24:00 hours. It does not apply to people living in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea and a few more countries with traditionally very low incoming Camino pilgrim traffic.

Exempt from this entry ban are Spanish nationals, Spanish residents and nationals of other EU countries and their residents, no matter from which country they depart for Spain.

For South Africa and Brazil, a still stricter entry ban applies that bars everyone living in these two countries expect Spanish nationals and Spanish residents (including Andorra). This had previously also applied to the UK but it is now no longer the case.

Orden INT/657/2020 (general entry ban on arrivals from non-EU+)
Orden PCM/284/2021(stricter entry ban on arrivals from Brasil and South Africa)
Orden SND/292/2021 (obligation for PCR and others tests for arrivals from EU countries by air and sea as before but now also for land border crossings from France)

 

[JabbaPapa]

Orden SND/292/2021 (obligation for PCR and others tests for arrivals from EU countries by air and sea as before but now also for land border crossings from France)

As this stands, this is until the end of the state of sanitary emergency, which I believe is currently scheduled for May 9th.

 

[Bristle Boy]

Two days ago my local news reported this...make of it what you will.

Bristol Airport: international flight lands with 140 people

Planes from other countries are now landing at Bristol airport once again

www.bristolpost.co.uk

 

[Kathar1na]

As this stands, this is until the end of the state of sanitary emergency, which I believe is currently scheduled for May 9th.

The text in question says: Una vez finalizada la prórroga del estado de alarma establecida por el Real Decreto 555/2020, de 5 de junio, las medidas contenidas en los capítulos II, III, IV, V, VI y VII y en la disposición adicional sexta serán de aplicación en todo el territorio nacional hasta que el Gobierno declare de manera motivada y de acuerdo con la evidencia científica disponible, previo informe del Centro de Coordinación de Alertas y Emergencias Sanitarias, la finalización de la situación de crisis sanitaria ocasionada por el COVID-19.

I am not a lawyer, let alone a specialist of Spanish national and constitutional law and power-sharing between national state and regions but to me as a layperson it means that the end of the state of alarm is not the end of the sanitary crisis in the eyes of the Spanish lawmaker. I wouldn't hold my breadth as far as the end date for obligatory tests is concerned in this respect, i.e. this obligation may well continue beyond the possible end of the national state of alarm on 9 May 2021.

 

[Kathar1na]

The following is largely academic because most of us are sitting behind our screens and typing away on our keyboards and are not walking in Spain. However, as to the situation on the ground versus the situation as described in cyberspace ... I noticed for some time now that the website of the Xunta albergues in Galicia, ie. the public albergues in Galicia where you can now book a public albergue bed for the next night, shows that all their albergues are closed while it was announced weeks ago in the press that these albergues will be opened. In fact, the Xunta had made an official announcement in this sense. And today I read indeed in La Voz de Galicia:

Los albergues públicos seguirán cerrados al ser suficiente la oferta privada.​

Public albergues in Galicia will remain closed because the private offer of rooms for pilgrims is sufficient.​

​

So they could have opened them legally but didn't open them for economic reasons. Fair enough. As I said, a largely academic bit of information but it may be of interest to those who don't plan to walk during the next few weeks but who are eager to learn about indicators of current and future evolution.

The article contains some information about the current situation on the Camino Inglés and plans for a future public albergue space in a building in Ferrol.

 

[Kathar1na]

Today's news:

Spanish border officials denied entry to dozens of Britons and sent them back to Manchester on the same plane. 31 [or 40, in any case a few dozens] passengers were turned away in Alicante on Monday [29 March] and returned, while their luggage will remain in Spain until Friday [that's because Ryanair has only two flights from Manchester to Alicante and back, namely on Monday and Friday and there was enough time to shove the passengers back on the plane but not their luggage. Turn-around time is money].​

​

The UK government says paperwork proving a successful residency application should be sufficient to enter Spain, but passengers say they were denied entry by border guards. Passengers say that Ryanair airport staff had approved their departure from Manchester, but were surprised to find a sign in the Spanish terminal that read "NO TIE CARD, NO ENTRY." ​

​

A TIE card (Foreigner Identity Card) is a card that proves that the owner, not being a Spanish national, has the right to live in Spain.

A spokesperson at the British Embassy in Madrid said they had been made aware that travellers had come up against issues at Alicante-Elche airport. The spokesperson said: “When making plans to travel from the UK to Spain, a UK national must make sure that they meet both the requirements to leave the UK and those to enter Spain, bearing in mind that they are not the same. Until 6pm on March 30 only those who are legally resident or have sufficient documentation to prove residency [were] allowed to enter Spain. From March 31, only those who have Spanish residence or their travel is considered essential will be allowed to enter Spain" [when coming from the UK].​

​

 

[JabbaPapa]

The French semi-lockdown has been extended to include the whole country, 'til 26th April looks like.

I'm one of those very few it doesn't really affect -- but it does mean that French Caminos are generally impossible once again for virtually all pilgrims.

 

[JabbaPapa]

i.e. this obligation may well continue beyond the possible end of the national state of alarm on 9 May 2021.

Sure, which is why I used "I believe", not something stronger.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Portugal is prolonging the border controls at its border with Spain 'til April 16th.

Those entering the country must have a valid reason, and even if traveling by land must have a negative PCR test less than 72 hours old ; incoming travellers from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Slovenia, Estonia, France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland and Sweden must quarantine for 14 days on arrival ; until the border controls are lifted, only Portuguese nationals or residents & the usual few exceptions may enter Portugal ; only Spaniards, their families, and residents of Spain may enter Spain from Portugal (though I suspect the ordinary exception for traveling via Spain to your country of nationality or residence still applies).

As for easing of travel restrictions inside Portugal, there's nothing official -- but the plan is to reopen travel between municipalities (but not regions) on April 5th ; whilst the current planned date for general reopening of the country is May 17th.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Not Camino news -- but it's significant for some pilgrims : travel will be possible without quarantine between Australia and New Zealand from April 19th.

 

[Kanga]

Whoa - have to get my passport renewed after all!

 

[JabbaPapa]

President Macron yesterday re-stated that France will be reopening in mid-May.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Here is an article about the consequences of the end of the State of Alarm on May 9th :

What happens when the state of alarm in Spain expires on May 9?

According to the central government and several experts, the regions will need legal backing to introduce coronavirus restrictions on movement, such as the curfew

english.elpais.com

 

[Kathar1na]

What happens when the state of alarm in Spain expires on May 9?

According to the central government and several experts, the regions will need legal backing to introduce coronavirus restrictions on movement, such as the curfew

english.elpais.com

This is a good article. The legal wrangling that goes on between courts, regional governments, "concerned citizens", affected businesses, and other actors that it describes for Spain is also typical for other countries with decentralised forms of government, with written constitutions protecting freedoms, and with insufficiently drafted general laws for the protection of public health that turned out to be inadequate for dealing with the current Covid-19 public health threat.

 

[Kathar1na]

Perhaps worth mentioning: one of the measures (as in measuring something) that is currently used a lot in EU countries to assess the public health situation is the case notification rate, usually called incidence rate. It is expressed as the number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 persons in a region or in a town during the previous 7 or 14 days. Please don’t take this as an invitation to discuss how meaningful, accurate etc etc this is but accept it as factual information: this is how it is and this is how it is done.

Depending on the country or region, the aim may be to reach a rate of below 100 or below 50 over 7 days. The rates in many regions in the EU are currently much higher, and that includes Spain.

There are colour coded maps with a breakdown of the rates by larger or smaller regions, like provinces or the region of/around a town, and I use them to get an idea of the current public health situation in a place.

 

[Kathar1na]

case notification rate, usually called incidence rate

Fwiw, Spanish news use the expression incidencia acumulada.

 

[JabbaPapa]

There are colour coded maps with a breakdown of the rates by larger or smaller regions, like provinces or the region of/around a town, and I use them to get an idea of the current public health situation in a place.

These maps are very useful, as for example (current situation) :

My only caveat is that the statistical data that they reproduce is always with a lag of about two weeks, as that's about how long it takes for a local spike in cases to translate into increased numbers regionally (some particular places with better resources can have faster turnaround).

This goes both ways -- so that if, on the ground, a situation is worsening, it will take about two weeks for the deterioration to appear on these maps ; conversely, if that situation is improving, that too will only appear after about two weeks.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Catalonia has returned to a harder lockdown, preventing travel without valid cause between "comarcas" (which are basically agglomerations of multiple Municipalities).

This measure is put in place 'til April 19th.

The Catalan Government has stated that it is prepared to impose restrictions beyond the end of the State of Alarm on May 9th.

 

[JabbaPapa]

There had been a rumoured easing of Regional restrictions after Easter, but this is not materialising.

All regions have prolonged their perimeter lockdowns.

Aragón 'til 9th May.

Asturias 'til no idea.

Castilla y León 'til 9th May.

Catalonia 'til 19th April.

Galicia 'til not sure when.

La Rioja 'til dunno.

Navarra 'til 22nd April.

The Basque Country has opened up for internal travel between Municipalities, but remains closed to travel from other Regions 'til don't know.

OTOH there are now VERY few Municipal lockdowns, and those are mainly in the Basque Country and Andalusia.

 

[Faye Walker]

Thank you for keeping us posted @JabbaPapa.... it is agonizing to be sure. We have just gone into "stay at home" orders again but I hope that the rationale in Spain is as it is here:

Use the time to limit the opportunity for spread while simultaneously vaccinating as many as possible inside that time frame. We are locked until May 6th, but there is a promise that if we can continue to vaccinate 90k per day as we are hitting now, that we will have everyone covered by at least one dose by early May (we have 2.2 million with at least one dose now). We need to get to 17 million.

May Spain see similar advantages over the next month. Really hoping for their own sake.

 

[Roby]

https://www.vueling.com/en/help-to-travel/travel-restrictions

 

[biarritzdon]

Ancient posts our forum need an updated thread!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Internal travel will be possible again in the UK from April 12th, though you cannot journey with anyone not from your household.

Pubs and restaurants etc are reopening, but only for outdoors and takeaway (takeaway is probably the only reasonable option for a hiker).

"Self-contained accommodation" will be available to rent from April 12 onwards, which will include Airbnbs, cottages and campsites.

Hotels and B&Bs will remain closed.

 

[Bristle Boy]

"Internal travel will be possible again in the UK from April 12th , though you cannot journey with anyone not from your household".
.......just checking it's not April 1st.

 

[mjal]

Internal travel will be possible again in the UK from April 12th,

As in many health matters, this is not correct ; the date refers to England, not the UK.

In Scotland, "stay at home " was lifted on April 2nd but replaced by "stay local" which essentially means no more than 5 miles from one's Local Authority area unless with "reasonable excuse" e.g. work commitments.
Free travel within Scotland should be possible from April 26th, subject to other requirements on mixing households etc.

 

[JabbaPapa]

It has been more or less confirmed by the Spanish Government that the State of Alarm will indeed be ending on May 9th, and therefore that all regional lockdowns and curfews will also be lifted at the latest on that date.

Some local or regional restrictions may persist, such as social distancing and masking rules, or even municipal lockdowns, or the closing of indoor bars or restaurants etc.

And some international travel bans into Spain are also liable to persist beyond that date.

But bottom line from our point of view, the Spanish Camino routes will be open in about a months time at latest (for those who can travel there).

As in many health matters, this is not correct ; the date refers to England, not the UK.

Well, yes and no -- it's correct insofar that central Government decisions regarding the lifting of national restrictions apply to the UK as a whole, though particular decisions in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland by their own Authorities can persist regardless including various regional restrictions.

But your point is a good and important one.

 

[mjal]

Well, yes and no -- it's correct insofar that central Government decisions regarding the lifting of national restrictions apply to the UK as a whole, though particular decisions in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland by their own Authorities can persist regardless including various regional restrictions.

But your point is a good and important one.

There is no "yes and no" about this situation.
"Central government decisions" i.e. UKGOV do NOT apply to the UK as a whole in health matters. The exception to this is international travel i.e outside the UK though UKGOV guidance on this also links to advice in the other countries

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/coronavirus-lockdown-rules-four-nations-uk

Quote from this linked site which is not official but gives a precise summary of the powers of the UK government :
"The UK government is only responsible for lockdown restrictions in England. This is because health is a devolved matter, which means that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are responsible for their own policies in relation to public health matters. ‘Lockdown’ was imposed through public health legislation, with separate regulations made in the UK, Scottish and Welsh parliaments and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Scottish government, Welsh government and Northern Ireland executive remain responsible for introducing and lifting restrictions in their respective territories, and can make different decisions."

So travel "within the UK" is NOT free from today ; it is in England (and, I think Wales and possibly Northern Ireland) but NOT Scotland.

This whole topic may seem unimportant and no doubt I will be thought pedantic but the alternative is to allow misconceptions to be left uncorrected.

Edited twice to try to persuade the system to show the URL of the link but to no avail. At least the link seems to work...
Edited again to correct the URL in accordance with Katharina's instructions ; these worked on the already-posted material but not on a test in normal typing mode or "preview".

 

[JabbaPapa]

No polemic please, I'm English.

 

[Tincatinker]

Edited twice to try to persuade the system to show the URL of the link but to no avail. At least the link seems to work...

@mjal for future reference a URL will not show as active until you click "Post Reply".

I'll post a couple to further your research: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/about-us/our-funding-and-collaborations; https://www.gatsby.org.uk/

 

[Kathar1na]

Edited twice to try to persuade the system to show the URL of the link but to no avail. At least the link seems to work...

@mjal, this is very frustrating and I have struggled with it in the past. Here's the trick to solve it ... for anyone who has the patience and tenacity : Click on the three dots in the top right corner; click on the square brackets; you are now in BB code; you see that your link is preceded by URL unfurl="true"; change true to false; click yourself back to where you started. Done.

Instead of:

StackPath

you see:

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/coronavirus-lockdown-rules-four-nations-uk​

 

[mjal]

@mjal for future reference a URL will not show as active until you click "Post Reply".

I'll post a couple to further your research: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/about-us/our-funding-and-collaborations; https://www.gatsby.org.uk/

Tinca,
Thank you but may I just say that viewing while typing, in "preview" or when "posted" seemed to make no difference?
I note Kathar1na's helpful post.
The other point is that the alteration to the URL of links did not seem to happen late last year or earlier this year...
Mike.

 

[mjal]

@mjal, this is very frustrating and I have struggled with it in the past. Here's the trick to solve it ... for anyone who has the patience and tenacity : Click on the three dots in the top right corner; click on the square brackets; you are now in BB code; you see that your link is preceded by URL unfurl="true"; change true to false; click yourself back to where you started. Done.

Instead of:

StackPath

you see:

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/coronavirus-lockdown-rules-four-nations-uk​

Thanks for this.
As I suggested to Tinca, this seemed not to happen in the past - or have I just been lucky?

 

[mjal]

No polemic please, I'm English.

I assume that this is addressed to me.

Could you please elucidate?

Thank you.

 

[Kathar1na]

this seemed not to happen in the past

Yes, I think that this unfurling of links is a fairly recent addition to the forum software. It's quite useful in most cases but not this time as it turned into the word StackPath which is quite meaningless for the reader.

 

[JabbaPapa]

The lockdown in France is going to be extended. No details yet as to how long for.

 

[Bristle Boy]

The lockdown in France is going to be extended. No details yet as to how long for.

Everything changes on an hourly basis...difficult to keep track of it.

 

[JabbaPapa]

The lockdown in France is going to be extended. No details yet as to how long for.

It's been extended to 11th May.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Everything changes on an hourly basis...difficult to keep track of it.

It's particularly difficult to work out what's going on in Portugal, as their announcements are very confusing.

 

[JabbaPapa]

It's been extended to 11th May.

hmmmmm, but OTOH there was a message on the public notice board in town this morning that it's extended to May 3rd ?

So yep, I made a mistake, sorry -- the lockdown in France has been extended to 3rd May.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Everything changes on an hourly basis...difficult to keep track of it.

Yes, it changes hourly...Jabba tries to keep us abreast of things as is humanly possible.

 

[JabbaPapa]

The closure of the Portugal-Spain border has been extended by two more weeks to the 30th of April.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/portugal%E2%80%99s-covid-status-updated-here.68656/post-914393

 

[JabbaPapa]

The lockdown in France has been extended to 3rd May.

President Macron has just announced that bars and restaurants will be able to reopen for outdoor service on May 3rd ; and for indoor service probably two weeks later.

And that France is still targeting mid-May for general reopening.

 

[jungleboy]

From Reuters, summarising yesterday's announcements:
In fight against COVID-19, Portugal continues to cautiously ease lockdown

 

[NicP]

Yes, it changes hourly...Jabba tries to keep us abreast of things as is humanly possible.

Crikey.... it changes so quickly that it makes it tough to know whether or not to try and organise a flight to Spain from the other side of the world.... oh well, I’ll get there one day!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Italy is to start reopening on April 26th.

Outdoor service will resume in bars and restaurants, and travel between some regions will become possible (earlier than the original April 30th). It is unclear at this time which regions will remain in lockdown, if any.

 

[Kathar1na]

And for those who want to read it for themselves, just published this morning, as seen from the Spanish side of the Spanish-Portuguese land border:

• Orden INT/361/2021, de 15 de abril, por la que se mantienen los controles en la frontera interior terrestre con Portugal [...] hasta las 00:59 horas del 1 de mayo de 2021

And seen from the Portuguese side of the same border:

• Despacho nº 3838-B/2021, de 15 de abril [...] vigorando até às 23h59 do dia 30 de abril de 2021.

 

[JabbaPapa]

France is liable on 2nd May to remove the current 10K limits to free movement (with many exceptions), as well as to diminish the curfew restrictions.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Italy has extended its state of emergency 'til July 31st.

The country has a covid colour code system for its Regions, and from April 26th, travel is becoming free between yellow Regions (and green, but there are none currently).

It will be possible to obtain a "green card" to travel for tourism purposes from any region to another, if either :
1) you have been vaccinated
2) you have caught Covid19 and recovered from it
3) you have a negative test less than 48 hours old -- doesn't need to be PCR, the quick antigen test will do

Which technically makes the Via Romea/Francigena possible again (outside UK & France) from 26th April onwards.

Bars and restaurants are reopening in the yellow regions, outdoor or takeaway service only. Mid-May is being targeted for indoor service to resume.

10PM to 5AM curfew is maintained, though the Government is considering changing that to 11PM.

Those entering Italy from abroad (except San Marino and Vatican City) are currently subjected to a quarantine !!

Travellers from the EU, Israel, the UK, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Andorra, or Monaco must have a negative test less than 48 hours old (antigen test will do), must inform the State upon arrival, and must obey a 5 day quarantine, and must pass a second test at the end of that period. (possibly illegal as far as Monaco is concerned, given that the entire country is less than 30Km distance from the Italian border)

There is a similar 10 day quarantine for those arriving from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Rwanda, Singapore, or Thailand. Additionally, travellers from those place may not use public transport to arrive at their final destination.

Technically there is an exception to the quarantine requirement for those travelling to Vatican City State, though it's doubtful that any Police will be impressed with foot pilgrims making their way to that place without quarantining.

A more likely exception is : arriving in the country on a certified "covid-free" flight.

These quarantine requirements are in place 'til April 30th included for the time being.

 

[JabbaPapa]

The Spanish Health Minister has restated that the state of alarm will be ending on May 9th.

Galicia has formally requested that travellers with a vaccination certificate should be allowed to cross regional borders during the current regional lockdowns. So for the vaccinated, Caminos starting from within Spain may become possible before May 9th.

Catalonia is to lift its restrictions on travel between its own Provinces.

 

[Kathar1na]

From the Association of the Municipalities of the Camino de Santiago, 21 April 2021. The map will be updated every Tuesday and there is further information about current restrictions on their website. A visual tool for those who are planning their pilgrimage, as they say.

https://www.amcsantiago.com/restricciones-covid-camino-de-santiago/

Click to enlarge

 

[JabbaPapa]

The regional lockdowns in France will no longer be in effect from May 3rd -- though the 7PM to 6AM curfew is maintained.