The European Centre for Disease Control has warned tourists hoping to travel to certain areas for a holiday this summer.
According to the latest update on the epidemiological situation of Covid-19 which has been worsening in some European countries, certain holiday hotspot areas have been moved to the “red list.”
While international travel is open to Irish holidaymakers looking to jet off to anywhere in the Schengen Area - the 26 European countries with a common visa policy that Irish people don’t need a visa to visit - the ECDC is advising against booking getaways to anywhere in the Covid red zone for our own safety.
Spain
As of yesterday, the entirety of mainland Spain is in the red zone, with the majority of areas being coloured a darker red on the ECDC’s Covid Case map indicating the countries increasing Covid-19 rates over the past 14 days.
Just the area of Asturias in the northwest of Spain is exempt from the dark red zone, but is still considered a red area.
While Spain identified more than 500 infections per 100,000 inhabitants over the last two weeks, the region of Asturias in the northwest of the country registered more than 200 but less than 500 infection cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
The Asturias region is not considered as affected as other parts of the Spanish territory.
The Balearic and Canary Islands are all also in the red zone.
Portugal
The majority of Portugal is also in the red zone. With the exception of central Portugal which is still orange.
Northern Portugal, Alentejo, Algarve and Lisbon’s surrounding area are all red on the Covid Case map.
The Azores are also red. The Madeira Islands are orange.
Since the pandemic began, Portugal has reported close to 980,000 new cases of the virus and had over 17,000 deaths.
France
Most of Southern France is either dark red or red. Northern France is orange with the exception of Ile de France, where Paris is, which is red.
Yesterday, the ECDC urged travellers to avoid the dark red regions of Midi-Pyrénées, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in particular.
The Islands of Corsica, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Saint Martin are all dark red. But Mayotte is still yellow.
France reported over 6 million new cases since the pandemic began and over 1,000 deaths.
France opened its borders to international travellers back in June, without the need for holidaymakers to self-isolate or take a test upon arrival.
With the worsening Covid numbers, many countries have begun putting restrictions in place against travellers arriving from France.
Italy
Italy has no red zone areas, with the majority of holiday spots either orange or yellow on the map.
The worst affected areas include Lazio, Umbria, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto. Sicily and Sardinia are also in the orange zone.
The country reported over 4 million new cases and 128,163 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Other holiday destinations in the red zone
Greece has areas that are both red and orange. Malta is orange. Cyprus is dark red.
What about Ireland?
As for Ireland, we are predominantly in the red zone too, with just the southeast of the country staying orange so far.
The north east is the worst affected, with the majority of areas in Connacht and Ulster being dark red.
