Irish holidaymakers planning a trip to Spain in the coming months are being warned that some destinations are considering reintroducing Covid restrictions.
Health officials in the popular region of Andalusia - which contains Malaga, Seville and Granada - are due to meet next week amid growing concern about rising cases and the threat of a new variant.
President of the regional government Juanna Moreno is asking for "maximum precautions” and could not rule out the “adoption of preventative measures”.
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Speaking on Friday, he expressed his concern about the millions of infections in China and the possibility that new strains could overcome vaccines.
He has confirmed that Andalusia's public health committee will meet on January 17 so that experts can give their opinions on the present situation and "shed light on how we can address some of the aspects which are worrying us."
"Prevention is better than cure and it is better to be two little steps in front rather than two little steps behind. I prefer to err on the side of foresight and that we go ahead with decisions in case we had some sort of incident that we hope and trust won't occur,” he said.
Meanwhile Mallorca is already advising locals and visitors to wear face masks inside, however health chiefs say this will be a matter of choice for the time being at least.
Minister of Health of the Balearic Government, Patricia Gómez, recently urged visitors and tourists to be vigilant.
She said the use of face masks indoors was recommended, but not mandatory or at least for now.
"We all know that it is in closed spaces when the virus circulates actively. The mask is a preventive measure although at the moment there are no indications to return to a generalised mandatory use in interiors,” she said.
For two years holidays to Spain were dominated by restrictions designed to stop the spread of Covid.
In October last year the last but one of those measures were removed, signalling a return to a version of pre-pandemic normality.
The only measure that currently remains across Spain is a requirement to wear a face mask on public transport, inside airplanes and in health centres, including pharmacies.
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