Foreign Office adds parts of Spain to ‘no-go’ list
The Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to certain regions in Spain.
They are: Madrid, La Rioja and the municipalities of La Bastida, Vitoria and Miranda de Ebro.
Spain has reported 91 coronavirus deaths, and the Spanish government is set to declare a state of alert.
The FCO said: "The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all but essential travel to the following regions that the Spanish Ministry of Health have designated as areas of community transmission of coronavirus: Madrid and La Rioja, and the municipalities of La Bastida and Vitoria (both in the Basque Country) and Miranda de Ebro (in Castilla y León).
"The Spanish government has suspended all incoming flights from Italy until March 25. The Spanish government has also asked people to avoid unnecessary travel and to consider remote working where possible.
"Authorities in the most affected regions (Madrid, the Basque Country, La Rioja, Catalonia, and Castilla y León) are putting in place extraordinary measures such as the temporary closure of schools, public sports centres, theatres and day care centres for the elderly due to an increase in coronavirus cases.
"The affected regions are prohibiting gatherings which involve more than 1000 attendees. All educational centres, including nurseries, schools and universities will close for 15 days or until further notice. In other regions, individual schools are being closed where there are suspected cases of the virus. National museums in Madrid (Museo Nacional del Prado, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza) are closed until further notice. Some local festivals such as Las Fallas in Valencia and sporting events have been postponed. You should follow local authority websites for further information.
"People intending to travel to Spain should consult their airlines and tour operators."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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