A FLIGHT from Madrid to Lanzarote with 140 people on board was quarantined on arrival after a passenger tested positive for the coronavirus while in the air.
Shocked passengers were hurried off the plane and forced into quarantine after landing at Cesar Manrique airport on the Canary Islands yesterday.
An investigation has now been launched by Spanish authorities to determine why the 53-year-old man was allowed to fly.
Current restrictions in Spain only allow people to fly for essential travel reasons, such as work or a personal emergency.
The passenger reportedly took a coronavirus test prior to travelling as he had been in contact with someone who had passed away from the virus, and also attended their funeral.
But according to reports, he had not received his results prior to boarding the flight – and only discovered the positive result while in the air.
Police and health authorities on the island scrambled to the airport after being contacted by Castilla y León public health department, which neighbours Madrid.
The man now faces prosecution and a hefty fine for skipping quarantine as well as a possible crime against public health.
Passengers sitting closest to the man will now have to spend two weeks in quarantine, while the remaining travellers face a week in confinement before being tested.
They have been offered free hotel accommodation to isolate in before being tested in seven days time.
The case proved particularly worrying for the island as it has stayed largely untouched by the pandemic.
As of yesterday, the tourist paradise had recorded just 6 coronavirus deaths and 84 positive cases, and had not recorded a single infection since April 30.
Authorities on the island are keen to prevent a large-scale outbreak which would decimate the tourist industry ahead of the summer holidays.
The government on the Canary Islands has now called on all travellers to be tested for the virus before they leave their country of origin.
The news will come as a blow as Spain opens up to tourists after experiencing one of Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreaks.
As of yesterday, the country had recorded 285,644 cases and 27, 121 deaths – the continent’s third-highest toll behind Italy and the UK.
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Different regions of hard-hit Spain are emerging at different speeds from a national lockdown as they meet targets stipulated by health officials.
This week we told how travel corridors between the UK and Spain could open between destinations such as Birmingham and Majorca first, if they have lower cases of coronavirus.
Also known as air bridges, countries are discussing agreements to allow tourists to travel between two destinations without needing to quarantine for 14 days.
Currently, both the UK and Spain are to enforce a two-week quarantine on anyone entering the country, even if it is nationals returning, although Spain will lift theirs in July.
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