Spain to reopen borders to foreign tourists from July 1 as COVID-19 cases drop

A government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero on June 5 reportedly said that Spain will start opening its borders to foreign tourists from July 1. Montero’s statement comes after a fellow minister said that the country would reopen its land borders from June 22. As the ministry walked back on the statement, the citizens were left confused and the country also faced criticism in neighbouring Portugal. 

Meanwhile, Spain has been recording a lower number of cases in the past week. The country has also eased COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and the top football division will also resume in the coming week. Currently, as per Johns Hopkins University tally, Spain has nearly 240,660 confirmed coronavirus cases and the deadly virus has claimed more than 27,000 lives in the country. 

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Last month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also coincided with far-right criticism in the country over lockdown's impact on the economy. He said that Spain’s tourism industry will now have “two new seals” that would include health security and environmental sustainability.

Spanish PM said, “This summer there will be a tourist season. We'll reactivate national tourism and since July also international tourism, always guaranteeing all security conditions. The sector will have two new seals this year: health security and environmental sustainability.”

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La Liga to resume on June 8 

Meanwhile, the La Liga Football league would resume on June 8 but without spectators. Sanchez said, “During the de-escalation, we will be recovering many daily activities, among them soccer. The Government has given the green light for the return of the Professional Soccer League from the week of June 8, with maximum health security for all participants”. 

Back in May, the country also witnessed protests that called for PM’s resignation along with his Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias for their handling of the health crisis and its repercussions on the stability of the country. Spain's far-right Vox party said that it was time “to make a big noise against the government of unemployment and misery that has abandoned our self-employed and workers”. Meanwhile, the government has stressed that it was the nationwide lockdown that enabled Spain to flatten the curve of coronavirus pandemic. 

(Image: Pixabay) 

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