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MADRID, Spain: As both Spain and France see increases in Covid infection rates, Spain will require those arriving by land from France to present a negative COVID-19 test, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.
Further, the negative test results must have been performed within 72 hours of being presented at the border.
“The order will take effect three days after its publication in the Official State Gazette, and until the government declares the end of the health crisis situation caused by COVID-19,” the Health Ministry said in a statement.
The only exceptions to the new rule will be truck drivers, cross-border workers and people who live within 20 miles of the border.
The necessity to display a negative Covid test will impact the many French who have entered Spain seeking the open bars and restaurants denied them in France.
And while Spain has experienced a continuing decline in Covid infections, this week the number began to again increase.
Spanish officials said that over the preceding 14 days, the infection rate increased by Friday to 138.6 per 100,000 people from 134 on Thursday, the Health Ministry said. It reported 7,586 new cases, bringing Spain’s overall tally to 3.26 million. The death toll rose by 590 to 75,010.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has classified all of France as a risk area.
