(Corrects pronoun in final paragraph to show Spain’s tourism minister is a woman)
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany has declared all of Spain a coronavirus risk area, the foreign ministry said on Friday, meaning that tourists and returning Germans must present a negative test to avoid quarantine.
The move, which includes the popular Balearic and Canary islands, will take effect on July 11.
Spain’s COVID-19 infection rate has more than doubled in a week as the Delta variant tears through unvaccinated younger adults. Germany had previously designated only a few regions in Spain as risk areas.
Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said earlier on Friday that Spain was a safe destination for tourists, citing its vaccination programme and the number of hospitalised patients being kept under control.
She spoke after a report that Germany planned to add Spain to its risk list and after French Junior European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune advised French people on Thursday to avoid Spain and Portugal for their summer holidays.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
