OBSOLETE COVID THREAD New Health Form Requirement for Entering Galicia from Certain Areas

[trecile]

I became aware of a new requirement to register when entering Galicia from this article:

Travellers from Portugal need to declare entry into Galicia

From today (26 January), anyone from Portugal wanting to enter Galicia will have to communicate their arrival within a maximum period of 24 hours and register their contact details on a website.

www.theportugalnews.com

According to the Xunta website it also applies to those coming in from most other Autonomous Communities in Spain

Benvida viaxeiras/os - Formulario de rexistro - Consellería de Sanidade - Servizo Galego de Saúde

www.sergas.es

(Google translation):

Who has to fill out the health form?

People, whether or not they are residents of Galicia , who come from or have been in the last fourteen days in territories with a high epidemiological incidence of COVID-19.
This reference must be understood to refer to the territory from which you come or where you have been within the period of fourteen days prior to your arrival in Galicia, not to the possession of the nationality of those countries.
This communication must be completed by each of the travelers , who will be responsible for the information provided to be true and accurate. In the case of minors, dependent or disabled persons, the declaration will be covered by their guardian, who will be responsible for the veracity of the information provided.

• In the following European countries and territories: Andorra, Cyprus, Denmark, Slovenia, France, Greece, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Faroe Islands, Isle of Man, Ireland, Iceland, Jersey, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, Portugal, San Marino and Switzerland.
• In all the autonomous communities of Spain except: Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Castilla-La Mancha, the Valencian Community and Madrid

Here's the form that needs to be filled out:

Coronavirus travellers

coronavirus.sergas.gal

 

[J Willhaus]

Wow! that means almost everyone on routes outside of Galicia will need to register!

 

[Former member 91017]

Seems pragmatic. It allows for efficient contract-tracing if there is any concern that travellers have been in contact with a symptomatic carrier. With albergues and hotels always having had an obligation to track clients' arrivals and departures, this will add a layer of health protection.

 

[trecile]

Wow! that means almost everyone on routes outside of Galicia will need to register!

Yes, but it looks like it's pretty easy to fill the form online.

 

[trecile]

Seem pragmatic. It allows for efficient contract-tracing if there is any concern that travellers have been in contact with a symptomatic carrier. With albergues and hotels always having had an obligation to track clients' arrivals and departures, this will add a layer of health protection.

and don't forget the free Covid insurance for tourists and pilgrims on Galicia.

Galiciayou have to come for sure! - Galicia safe destination - GALICIA

If you come to Galicia, you’ll be safe for sure!During your holiday in Galicia, you’ll be covered by the new COVID-19 travel insurance.A destination is much more ...Much ...

www.turismo.gal

 

[Former member 91017]

and don't forget the free Covid insurance for tourists and pilgrims on Galicia.

Galiciayou have to come for sure! - Galicia safe destination - GALICIA

If you come to Galicia, you’ll be safe for sure!During your holiday in Galicia, you’ll be covered by the new COVID-19 travel insurance.A destination is much more ...Much ...

www.turismo.gal

Yeah... I love that.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

The free insurance for tourists to Galicia staying in a regulated establishment was mentioned in a similar December thread...so what exactly qualifies as a "regulated establishment"? Free insurance sounds almost "too good to be true". The question was asked in a few of the posts, but I've not seen where anyone had given any answers regarding what that means.
Quoting from the earlier thread and website/link...
"Extra protection!
To benefit from this insurance, you don’t need to apply, you only have to be staying at a regulated establishment in Galicia. The insurance is activated automatically."

 

[Kathor1]

I became aware of a new requirement to register when entering Galicia from this article:

My own understanding, based on what I remember to have read and also on this thread about Mandatory Travel Form for Galicia from August 2021, says that this form and the requirement to fill it in is nothing new. You have to fill in the form when you have been, during the previous 2 weeks, in an area classified as a high risk area by the regional government of Galicia.

I further guess that numerous pilgrims may never have been aware of it or may never have paid any attention to it. There are posters in albergues.

What's new is that Portugal is again classified as an area of a high epidemiological incidence of COVID-19. This should not come as a surprise to anyone who follows news, even when only superficially. The whole EU is currently an area with a very high incidence rate. The whole weekly ECDC map is coloured in dark red.

 

[Kathor1]

According to the comment in the August 2021 thread, filling in the form is not only a general obligation but also necessary for pilgrims and other tourists in order to be covered by Galicia's Covid-19 insurance.

Regulated accommodation is, in the given context, accommodation that is regulated by law for tourism: a hotel, a casa rural, a pension, an albergue, a rented apartment or villa on the beach.

Galicia arranged such an insurance contract with a major global insurer to attract tourists. Galicia had quite a succesfull summer season and I guess that they consider it worth it. I remember vaguely that they paid a premium in the range of hundreds of thousands of €'s.

 

[Kathor1]

I remember vaguely that they paid a premium in the range of hundreds of thousands of €'s.

To be precise, the Galician government is paying the insurer a premium of 1 054 500 € for the 'free' Covid-19 insurance for pilgrims and other tourists.

And not everyone rejoiced about it. From a Spanish news article back then: In the end it is the [Galician] taxpayers who end up paying the price, who must not be very happy about the lack of health care in Galicia and elsewhere, and who see how their taxes are spent on the health of foreigners. Let's remember that in the case of EU citizens they are already covered."

I don't want to start a controversial discussion. I just find it useful sometimes to understand a bit more about the country we visit.

Info:
La Xunta ha contratado este servicio con la aseguradora Europ Assitance; the link shows details of this insurance contract on a Galicia government website. Also:

TRANSPARENTIA | De 380.000 a un millón de euros: el gasto de las CCAA en 'seguros covid' para turistas

Algunas comunidades autónomas como Andalucía, Canarias, Galicia y Murcia están dando cobertura gratuita a viajeros en caso de contraer COVID-19 y asumen los gastos de cuarentena o repatriación, entre otros

www.newtral.es

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Regulated accommodation is, in the given context, accommodation that is regulated by law for tourism: a hotel, a casa rural, a pension, an albergue, a rented apartment or villa on the beach.

It sounds like that covers all accomodation with the exception of visiting in a friend's home, should you have one. This is good news for most of us on this forum.

 

[Kathor1]

BTW, the Galician Covid-19 insurance contract runs for one year from 1 June 2021 to 1 June 2022, so pilgrims will still be covered during the first five months of the current year.

 

[nycwalking]

and don't forget the free Covid insurance for tourists and pilgrims on Galicia.

Galiciayou have to come for sure! - Galicia safe destination - GALICIA

If you come to Galicia, you’ll be safe for sure!During your holiday in Galicia, you’ll be covered by the new COVID-19 travel insurance.A destination is much more ...Much ...

www.turismo.gal

Um!

“Free” usually entails loopholes.

This registration may be just that.

 

[TaijiPilgrim]

I was recently in Andalucia - not on camino. We were in an apartment rental for 3 weeks. Andalucia also offers tourists Covid insurance so I researched a bit. Accommodations have to be officially recognized by the Andalucian government. In the case of apartments, they have to be registered and given a number. My apartment was. The registration number was on its Bookking.com listing. I imagine this might also apply to the Galicia insurance program.
Came back home to New England just in time to prepare for "the winter storm that could break records for snow accumulation." Wish I were in Spain!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Um!

“Free” usually entails loopholes.

This registration may be just that.

I know! That's why I was initially curious and a bit skeptical, but it does seem to be quite true/real in this case.

P.S. I'm sure I pay for my "free" included hotel breakfasts.

 

[nathanael]

Yes, but it looks like it's pretty easy to fill the form online.

I think I think it will be another year away from the Camino it is getting too complicated to travel outside of Canada many wonderful trails here.

 

[MacMac]

I did this in 2020 and 2021 already. It isn’t new. Takes about a minute, so not a big deal. Actually a very tiny deal

 

[Kathor1]

it will be another year away from the Camino it is getting too complicated to travel outside of Canada

Filling out this form is not complicated. Easily done online and on a mobile phone but I am sure that in Galicia they will rustle up a pen and a piece of paper to fill in if you insist. It is even available in English. See for yourself, what do you think?

https://coronavirus.sergas.gal/viaxeiros/Rexistro.aspx?ling=en

 

[Susan Peacock]

Not a new requirement but when I was on Camino in October, no one seemed to know anything about it and I didn’t know any pilgrims that registered….. not saying no one did, it just wasn’t a big deal.

 

[J Walking]

Filling out this form is not complicated. Easily done online and on a mobile phone but I am sure that in Galicia they will rustle up a pen and a piece of paper to fill in if you insist. It is even available in English. See for yourself, what do you think?

https://coronavirus.sergas.gal/viaxeiros/Rexistro.aspx?ling=en

Thank you Kathar1na for the link.
A question: Not sure I understand - one of the lines requires the traveler to list the name and/or address of the accommodation. Do we need to fill out the brief form every night we stay in a different albergue or rural hotel?

 

[Molly Cassidy]

Regulated accommodation is, in the given context, accommodation that is regulated by law for tourism: a hotel, a casa rural, a pension, an albergue, a rented apartment or villa on the beach.

Yes, I think the only sort of accommodation that might not be covered is if you stayed in an AirBnB type apartment that wasn't officially registered as tourist accommodation.

 

[Kathor1]

Not a new requirement but when I was on Camino in October, no one seemed to know anything about it and I didn’t know any pilgrims that registered….. not saying no one did, it just wasn’t a big deal.

It is always good to get feedback from pilgrims who had walked recently, thank you.

Just a thought: it may not even have been a requirement back in October for Camino pilgrims to register when walking into Galicia. I believe that the Galician regional government uses the same figures as those that are used to establish the weekly ECDC maps. Compare the map for now (week 3 in 2022 - late January) with the map then (week 40 - early October). Dark red is used to mark regions with high risk/incidence rates. There is not a single region within 2 weeks of walking to Galicia that was coloured dark red in October last year. While currently every region, including all of Portugal, is coloured dark red.

 

[maruska89]

I was recently in Andalucia - not on camino. We were in an apartment rental for 3 weeks. Andalucia also offers tourists Covid insurance so I researched a bit. Accommodations have to be officially recognized by the Andalucian government. In the case of apartments, they have to be registered and given a number. My apartment was. The registration number was on its Bookking.com listing. I imagine this might also apply to the Galicia insurance program.
Came back home to New England just in time to prepare for "the winter storm that could break records for snow accumulation." Wish I were in Spain!

Stay safe.. I hear it might be quite the storm!

 

[Anniesantiago]

I feel pretty stupid because honestly, I don't quite understand it.
I looked at the form.
The first thing is "Departure" ... departure from where? From the United States on the day I leave home?
Do I fill this out before I fly to Spain or on the day(s) before entering Galicia while walking?

 

[Geoff Shepherd]

I feel pretty stupid because honestly, I don't quite understand it.
I looked at the form.
The first thing is "Departure" ... departure from where? From the United States on the day I leave home?
Do I fill this out before I fly to Spain or on the day(s) before entering Galicia while walking?

Yes @Anniesantiago I agree that the form does not appear well set up for the Camino.

I intend to fill it out as I stop at O’Cebreiro for lunch and as they seem to be only interested in the past 14 days, I’ll say I departed from Spain counting back those 14 days which should put me around Burgos. As to the accom address, I am just going to give them my SdC hotel.

Still, it might all change by the time I set off from SJPdP in mid-May.
Good luck and Cooee.

 

[Jim]

Yes, but it looks like it's pretty easy to fill the form online.

For the phone prefix, the online system will not accept 1. You need to use 001