Date Published: 20/04/2021
ARCHIVED - Vaccine passport holders could soon be allowed free movement within Andalusia
The Andalusian regional president has called on the Spanish government to discuss the possibility of nationwide travel for those who have been inoculated with two doses
The Andalusian borders, both regional and provincial, have been closed since 15 January, meaning (in theory at least) that nobody can enter or leave the province they live in without justified cause. That is unlikely to change until 9 May, when the state of alarm across Spain runs out.
However, the regional authorities of Andalucía are considering the possibility of relaxing restrictions on mobility for Andalusian residents who have been vaccinated before this date.
Regional president Juanma Moreno said on Monday (19 April) that around 600,000 members of the public in the region have been immunized with two doses and in his opinion, these individuals shouldn't have to wait for 80 per cent of the population to be vaccinated in order to be able to move around within the borders of the vast Andalucía region.
As of Monday evening the region had administered 2,261,414 doses of vaccine, with 615,343 people (7.35 per cent of the population) having received two doses and 1,030,728 having received one dose. Over 56,000 vaccines were administered on Monday.
The idea would be for those with a ‘vaccine passport’ to be able to travel between the region's eight provinces. They would also be allowed to attend certain events, such as concerts, theatre performances and bullfights. The passport in question would be the QR code that the Andalusian health department launched at the beginning of March to provide digital identification for those who have been inoculated, which can be downloaded via the ClicSalud+ website and the Salud Andalucia mobile app.
Moreover, the Andalusian government also believes that everyone in the country who has had both doses of coronavirus vaccine should be allowed free movement, and Sr. Moreno has called on the Spanish government to convene a meeting of the regional leaders to discuss the matter.
In the meantime, Andalusia’s second in command, Juan Marín, has said that he hopes the health situation will improve sufficiently by 9 May to allow for movement between provinces at the very least.
Sr. Marín did express his understanding that such a decision depends not only on the wishes of the Andalusia government, but also on the agreement of its neighbours.
In any case, the regional vice-president said that if vaccination rates continue at 350,000 per week throughout May, some form of normality should have returned by June, when international tourists could also start to arrive.
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