Live News From Spain As It Happens

SCIENTISTS from Madrid Autonomous University (UAM) have found micro-plastics in a protected area of the Antarctic for the first time ever.

The Byers Peninsula, on Livingston Island (pictured left, by the UAM), is a freshwater zone completely inaccessible to humans – only accredited researchers, who have to obtain a permit first – meaning the presence of micro-plastics shows just how far they travel when they find their way into the seas.

According to the team, fragments of polyester (PET) – the type used to make disposable water bottles and also textile fabric – acrylic and teflon have been discovered in the waters of the South Pole.

They are all smaller than five millimetres in diameter – half a centimetre, or about a quarter of an inch – and generally range from 0.4 to 3.5 millimetres, and in all shapes and colours, in fibre format and film, or soft plastics.

This means they are so small they would not be noticed by animals, fish or even humans drinking them.

“We already knew micro-plastics had reached the sea, rivers and the soil over a large part of the planet, but we didn't expect to find them in what is probably one of, if not the, most virgin territories on earth,” say UAM investigators.

“This is a part of the Antarctic which has been under various environmental protection legislation since 1966, and its access is highly restricted. You can only enter it for scientific reasons, in very small groups, and with a permit from the Antarctic authorities.

“In fact, in the last few decades, only a very small number of scientists have entered Livingston Island, and only for very specific causes that required full justification.”

As well as the UAM, which was leading the expedition, the National Museum of Natural Sciences and Alcalá University, in the Greater Madrid region, took part, using a micro-filter technique to search for the miniscule plastic particles and publishing the results of their research in the magazine Marine Pollution Bulletin.

The group says this disturbing discovery raises the question: Is there a single part of the planet left where micro-plastics are not now present?

“There's still a lot of work to do to find out how they were transported here [to the Byers Peninsula], but we do know where they come from: They originate from activity that every single one of us is involved in,” a UAM spokesperson said.

The researchers were quick to point out that the real 'evil' in this situation is not plastic, but humans who use it.

“Plastic is not all bad,” they stressed.

“But plastic is designed to be very long-lasting. And despite this, a huge proportion of the plastic we use every day is disposable, or single-use only.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A SCHEDULE for vaccinating the whole population of Spain against the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been released, allowing everyone to see where they fit in depending upon their individual circumstances.

As yet, it is not known which brands of the vaccine will be used, as it will depend upon which are available the quickest and which will be the most practical in terms of storage and transport.

It has already been confirmed that from January to March inclusive, care home staff and their residents will be the first to be vaccinated, followed almost immediately by healthcare workers and people who are not in official homes but need round-the-clock care, such as the very elderly or disabled living at home. 

'Phase two' has now been confirmed, and will operate from March to early June.

The full list of those who will be vaccinated during that time – although not necessarily in order – will be everyone aged 65 and over, people with high-risk health conditions that could mean catching Covid-19 would be considerably more dangerous than in a person with no medical complaints, people who work or live in very enclosed places or in communities, people classed as 'vulnerable' because of their socio-economic situation (which could be those living in homeless shelters, overcrowded accommodation or immigration centres, for example), people whose jobs are considered 'essential services' and who cannot do them without being in contact with others, teaching staff, children and young teenagers, teenagers and very young adults over 16, people living or working in areas with a very high incidence of the virus or with reported outbreaks, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, people who test positive for the virus even if they are not ill with it, and the rest of the adult population.

'Phase three' will be from late June through the summer and will include anyone in the above list who has not been vaccinated.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AIRLINES and the European Commission are urging member States and third countries to accept antigen tests instead of PCRs for international arrivals, in a bid to save the tourist season over Christmas and allow families and friends to reunite.

Regional tourism authorities in the Canary and Balearic Islands – where the Covid-19 incidence is relatively low but the loss of holidaymakers is financially crippling at any time – have criticised the national government for its decision to request negative PCR tests for all air or sea passengers entering Spanish soil, even citizens of Spain.

Even though this requirement is a far more convenient alternative to an enforced 14-day quarantine – which may not be effective anyway, as a 'positive' person could still be asymptomatic after this time – it presupposes that a PCR is easy and affordable to obtain, that results will definitely come through in time, and that the personal data in the results communication are acceptable to international authorities.

Spaniards in Britain call for solutions for their family Christmas

Spaniards living in the UK have also complained, since the requirement may stop their returning to the family nest for Christmas – even more so than the obligation to quarantine for a fortnight when they get home to Britain afterwards.

As tests have to be taken within no more than 72 hours of the departing flight or ship, a traveller could be stranded if the results do not arrive in time – usually, they are sent to the person tested within just over 24 hours, but this is not guaranteed – and have to go through the process again.

Also, costs of tests vary by country: In Spain, a PCR at a private clinic costs around €95 to €150, and in the UK, they are given via high-street chemists' but cost around £250 (about €300).

One Spanish woman in Manchester who had a test via the UK's National Health Service said the results only show full name, date of birth and address, meaning they may not be accepted at a Spanish airport as they do not show her national ID number from her native country, or her passport number.

Tests are only free on State healthcare systems in both countries where a person either has symptoms consistent with Covid-19, or is known to have been in close contact with a 'positive'.

Antigen tests: Solution for those who need to 'prove they are negative'

Antigen tests are less used at present – they are thought to be suitable for mass testing in the event of an outbreak with a high number of contacts, and for those who just need to prove they are 'negative', but have not, so far, been recommended for anyone with symptoms, as they do not provide enough data to allow a person to be treated accurately.

For holiday travel and visiting family and friends abroad, though, they should be accepted, says the Spanish Airlines Association (ALA), hotel bosses and regional tourism ministries nationwide, and the country's pilots' union, SEPLA.

It would help restore freedom of movement within the EU if these were accepted, especially if testing standards were set across the board internationally, plus they are quicker, with results in 10 to 15 minutes.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TRAFFIC fine money should be used to pay for driving lessons and tests for young people from hard-pressed families, says left-wing Podemos.

The party governing in coalition with the socialists (PSOE) and whose leader, Pablo Iglesias, is first deputy president of Spain, says that although public transport passes for free or at a discounted rate are available for people with very low incomes, outside of large cities, such methods of conveyance can be virtually non-existent.

And without being able to drive, young adults are unable to apply for jobs. 

But lessons are only legally permitted through an accredited driving school, which normally has a physical premises and is State-run – it is against the law for a parent or other adult to take a learner out in their own car with L-plates, even off-road.

Tests are expensive for families struggling to make ends meet, and an estimated 73% of candidates will fail their first one at least.

Whilst in Spain, the 'rush' to take driving lessons on the very day young people become legally old enough is more of a 'stroll' – most youths will spend their university summer holidays taking lessons, or even leave it until they graduate – not being able to get about could seriously hamper their chances of finding work.

In Spain, lessons and tests can only be taken from age 18 onwards, although most brand-new drivers tend to be in their early 20s.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ELDERLY residents in nursing homes and carers will be the first in Spain to be vaccinated against Covid-19, starting in January, and then all other dependent persons and medical workers will follow, Spain's ministry of health has announced.

These four vulnerable groups will be immunised between January and March, the first phase of a nationwide vaccination plan announced today (Tuesday, November 24) by Spain's government.

It is expected that even by the end of this initial phase, availability of vaccines will continue to be low worldwide, since it will be very difficult for production to keep up with demand – potentially, every single human on earth will need to be inoculated at some point, and the injections will need to be repeated annually, rather than being for life as is the case with those for childhood illnesses and some tropical diseases.

Health minister Salvador Illa says it is likely the first doses of the vaccine will come from Moderna, but that the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford ones will have been made available before the end of the initial three-month immunisation campaign.

After March, the number of people vaccinated will 'progressively increase', starting with those at highest 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

WHAT if you could win prizes and make charity donations without dipping into your purse just for recycling your plastic bottles and drinks cans? National waste management company Ecoembes wants to find out, and is hoping it will lead to cleaner streets and a healthier planet.

It has set up 'yellow slot machines', as a complement to the existing 'yellow bin' for plastics and aluminium, in 10 railway stations and 21 towns and villages nationwide, and any member of the public can use them, resident or not.

At the moment, the 10 in stations are on the Barcelona metro only, as a pilot scheme – and these transport hubs have been chosen because they tend to be in daily use by a high number of members of the public and are the places where people are most likely to consume bottled water or fizzy drinks in cans.

But they are expected to be rolled out gradually around the country. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

EARLY details of a vaccination plan have been revealed and more information will be released tomorrow (Tuesday, November 24) – but Spain's president Pedro Sánchez says the strategy will be the same for the whole country and will not vary by region.

Spain and Germany will be the first two countries to present a 'complete' vaccination plan, although inoculations will not be compulsory by law as no legal instrument exists to require the whole population to receive one.

About 10% of all the vaccine doses the European Union is set to receive will go to Spain, where 13,000 'vaccine points' will be set up nationwide.

Sánchez has promised 'fair and equal access' to the inoculation, and will 'guarantee' that 'priority' groups will all be able to have it.

This means anyone with chronic physical health problems that would make catching SARS-CoV-2 even more of a serious risk, plus anyone aged 65 and over, medical workers, care staff and others who are constantly and necessarily facing far greater chances of contagion or for whom the viral load would be much higher – such as nurses exposed to Covid-19 patients.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

IS THERE anywhere in Spain that can compare to the volcanic Lord Howe Island with its gigantic coral reefs, the vast tundras and mountain wilderness of Alaska's Katmai National Park, the Caribbean paradise of Dominica with resident sperm whales you can go diving amongst, Argentina's Glacier National Park, or Brazil's wild Cerrado with its seven-stone armadillos?

Apparently so, according to National Geographic. The far-flung, fascinating, awe-inspiring and totally unique scenery found in the long list of global destinations described and pictured in its Best of the World 2021 list of emerging destinations for the year to come, one Spanish city has been picked as a top choice for travellers.

No doubt, given the exotic nature of most of the other 24 on the Best of the World 2021 list, you'd imagine Spain's sole entry (no country has more than one) to be somewhere in the Canary Islands, the Balearics, Andalucía, the Comunidad Valenciana, or one of the major metropolitan areas that attract visitors from every continent year-round.

But the oracle on the wonders of the little-known world says Vitoria, in the Basque Country, is the one to watch.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

DETAILED talks over how to maintain the rights and freedoms of cross-border workers living in Spain and with jobs in Gibraltar have reached a conclusion and a new system ready to be put into place.

About 15,000 European Union citizens work in the British enclave on the far tip of the Iberian peninsula, of whom around two-thirds are Spaniards, and the vast majority of the latter live in the province of Cádiz and commute daily.

But as they are, technically, commuting into the UK, once the Brexit transition period ends as the New Year of 2021 begins, many are still worried or facing uncertainty.

The Withdrawal Agreement says these cross-border employees will retain all their workers' rights that they had when both countries were members of the EU, but how to ensure this functions in practice needed a great deal of fine-tuning.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

YOU DON'T have to be rich to make it onto the Forbes list – or, at least, a doctor's salary is enough, as 165 medics in Spain already know.

No single practitioner comes out first or 165th, and they are based in both the public health service and the private sector or, in some cases, dovetailing both. 

The latest edition of Forbes España's book Best Doctors Spain is now out, splitting those named into a total of 27 specialist areas and including them based upon merits such as scientific achievements, awards or distinctions earned, their presence in the communications media, the opinions of their patients, their positive impact on the hospitals they work for, their positions of relevance in their field, and their contributions to care, research and training or education. 

Editor of Forbes España Andrés Rodríguez says: “With this manual, we're seeking to recognise the excellence in Spanish health care in all areas.”

Spain has long been among the top countries in the world for quality of service and care and levels of training and techniques in medicine – although the actual care received, waiting times and doctors' knowledge is, like in all countries, a postcode lottery, the standard across the board is generally high.

Just like every health service in the world, its actual quality will always be affected by whether it receives just enough, insufficient, or more than ample funding, but in general, if a patient goes to his or her GP with a concern, symptom or issue, the correct referral to the nearest specialist or for whatever tests are necessary will be made immediately, any medication needed and which is covered by the public health system will be prescribed irrespective of the cost to the service, and nobody is made to 'feel silly' or 'feel guilty' for raising what is, to them personally, a legitimate concern.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

HOTEL bookings by the hour helped save Spain's tourism industry this autumn – in fact, they soared by over 70% in October, reports founder of the platform ByHours, Guillermo Gaspart.

Around 3,500 hotels in 24 countries are registered on the portal, says Gaspart, and booking for hours rather than days rose by 62% just in September.

By October, they had broken the 14,000 reservations barrier.

Spain in particular has benefited from this home-grown scheme, given that its beach tourists over summer months are some of the biggest contributors to the national economy and the holiday industry in the country year round, including staycations, rural trips and city breaks, accounts for an estimated 15% of the GDP.

Gaspart says that as a result of the pandemic and entire nations opting to enforce quarantine on travellers from other entire nations, hotels have had 'loads of empty rooms' this year.

September and October typically see this happen anyway, although to a lesser extent than during 'Covid year'.

This means they have a 'very high availability' for booking by the hour.

“The more product you have, the more you sell,” explains ByHours' creator.

Hourly reservations do not have to involve travelling very far – or even at all, which is what has made them take off during the pandemic.

Guests can book rooms in 'packages', which may or may not include food and use of other facilities, with prices for three, six or 12 hours.

A different type of hourly-booking 'package' allows customers to book meeting rooms for set time slots.

Gaspart explains that the average 'hourly reservation' tends to be for work or for chilling out: Guests book a room so they can do their jobs remotely in comfort, peace and quiet, or to just 'get away from it all' for a day.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S health minister has relented in his refusal to consider testing for Covid-19 in high-street pharmacies, and is now open to considering doing to – especially after the European Union recommended mass antigen testing and training staff to be able to perform them.

Although a PCR test is the 'gold star', according to Brussels, an antigen test is much quicker and can detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the organism within 10 to 15 minutes, is highly effective and could be extremely useful in the event of outbreaks in 'cluster' organisations such as hospitals, schools, workplaces and care homes where a handful of people are known positives and all others have to be checked to ensure they are clear before they can come out of quarantine.

A petition on Change.org started by a pharmaceutical worker says Spain has around 22,000 high-street chemists', typically several in every town and with opening hours that cover a 12-hour period at least, whilst not every town even has a GP surgery and the larger municipalities, which do, may only have one or two in total, sometimes only open until lunchtime.

This means pharmacies have the time and resources to carry out mass tests without encroaching on valuable health service hours, which are stretched at present due to dealing with the Covid crisis on top of the public's usual medical issues – and the pending 'flu season.

Read more at thnkSPAIN.com

FAST food company McDonald's has launched a burger made entirely with Spanish produce from local farmers in a bid to help them get through the economic turndown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 'Big Good', as the burger is named, will use goods supplied by 2,000 producers from all over the country – Andalucía, Murcia, Catalunya, Extremadura, Madrid, Navarra, Galicia, Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha.

According to the chain, the ingredients chose were those whose producers had most seen a drop in demand in the first few months of the health crisis.

These have not been detailed in full, but as well as wheat for bread and beef for the burger, appear to include cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and eggs.

Managing director of McDonald's España, Luis Quintiliano, says the move is 'an action in accordance with' the food chain's 'purpose as a company'.

“It's to benefit the Spanish primary sector at a very delicate moment,” Quintiliano says, “and, beyond this, it's our duty to society as a company.

“I believe the current climate is demanding companies to put plans like 'Big Good' in action – to help reactivate the micro-economy in our country.”

Quintiliano urges other firms in Spain to 'join the movement to support the primary sector and small businesses as far as they are able to do so'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A VACCINE against Covid-19 developed in Spain will be ready for production to start 'in less than a month', according to laboratory Rovi.

Its deputy chairman and finance manager Javier López Belmonte says the inoculation created for the pharmaceutical giant Moderna – based in the USA – will be at least partially manufactured in Spain, where it was devised, and that its promising results mean this could begin as early as mid-December.

López Belmonte says Rovi has struck a ground-breaking deal with Moderna allowing it to produce the vaccine for 'all the markets outside the USA', which include Europe, Asia, and all of the American continent apart from the United States itself.

The 'bio-technological part' of the vaccination, or the primary material, is developed by the Swiss company Lonza, then sent to the laboratories at Rovi, which turns it into the final pharmaceutical product, including bottling and packaging.

According to current timescales, the Moderna vaccine could be hitting the market by the beginning of 2021.

Before all this starts, the regulatory process needs to be completed and the drug rubber-stamped.

Moderna will arrange for samples of the product to be sent to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for approval, and López Belmonte says Rovi expects this authorisation process to be 'very quick'.

“These procedures can take up to a year and a half, but in this case, it'll be done in months,” he explains.

The Moderna vaccine will begin its manufacturing process in the USA first, which means it is likely to be administered across the pond before the end of the year, but once Spain starts with the European, Asian and rest-of-Americas production, the procedure is 'very fast', López Belmonte assures.

“It's basically an injectable solution in an aseptic vial, so the process involves testing to make sure the product is sterile. This part of the manufacturing only takes a few days, and then the process of releasing and checking the sterility of the produce takes 15 to 20 days. In other words, in about a month, give or take, it'll be ready.”

The Rovi production centre is based in San Sebastián de los Reyes, in the Greater Madrid region, but other branches of the company will also be providing manufacturing support work.

All this has required an express revamp of Rovi's premises and facilities, including technology transfer and freeing up additional funds for investment.

Unlike the Pfizer vaccine – which looks set to be the first in the 'race' and was developed for the German company by a husband-and-wife team, who are both the children of Turkish migrants in the central European country – the Moderna inoculation does not have to be stored at exceptionally-low temperatures.

One of the drawbacks of the Pfizer drug is that it needs to be frozen at around -80ºC, and not all countries on earth will have the facilities to do so.

López Belmonte says the Moderna vaccine can be kept for up to 30 days at between 2ºC and 8ºC – about the same temperature as a household fridge – and up to 12 hours at room temperature, and for longer-term storage, can be kept for six months at -20ºC, which is more feasible for nations with more basic infrastructure.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A TOTALLY Spanish-made satellite is due to go up into space from South America in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and will be able to capture ultra-detailed, high-resolution footage of land use, urban development, water supply, forest fires, wetlands, national borders, and crops.

The Vega will be capable, among other functions, of monitoring drought processes to be able to prepare for crop failure long before it happens, and send real-time alerts of wildfires breaking out.

Located at 670 kilometres above the earth, Vega will collate vital information for the entire planet, not just Spain, where it was built.

A Seosat-Ingenio, with the ability to take up to 600 images a day with a resolution of 2.5 metres – enough to take a close-up photo of a euro coin from 10 kilometres away – the Vega will be launched from the European space port of Kuru in Guyane Française at 02.52 mainland Spain time (01.52 GMT and Canary Island time) on November 17, alongside the French-made satellite Taranis.

Airbus Defence Space España's programme leader, engineer Oriol Álvarez, says the Vega, which weighs 830 kilos, can capture images of both sides of the planet at once and can 'visit' anywhere in the world in three days, takes just 98 minutes to orbit the Earth.

“This means it can circumnavigate the globe completely 14.7 times a day,” Álvarez explains.

“It's able to return to the same precise spot every three days.

“Thanks to the Vega, we've achieved two major aims: Firstly, we've shown the extent of the Spanish aerospace industry's capacity to develop high-performance satellite platforms; secondly, we've given Spain its own high-resolution Earth observation system.”

With technical and project management support from the European Space Agency (ESA), the Vega is financed and led by the Industry Technology Development Centre (CDTI), part of the ministry of science and innovation, and Airbus España has led a consortium of Spanish industries in its creation and design.

Companies involved include Sener, Thales Alenia Space España, Indra, Iberespacio, HV Sistemas, GMV, Deimos Space, Crisa and GTD – a range which, according to Álvarez, shows Spain has a 'solid aerospace fabric' and whose results will 'open the door to future national and international projects' of this magnitude.

Colour and black-and-white photographs are taken by the two telescopes fitted to the Spanish Earth Observation Satellite (SeoSat), and would be able to snap every centimetre of Spain's territory within less than two months.

Main observation areas of priority interest programmed at present are Latin America, North Africa, Europe, and Spain itself, and the footage will be distributed to private and public users as well as contributing to the massive European Earth observation programme, Copernicus; additionally, it will complement the work of the satellite radar PAZ, sent into orbit in 2018 mainly for defence purposes.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

FOR ANYONE who has spent time in more than one part of Spain, it must be nearly impossible to pick out the most beautiful municipality on its stunning coastlines, but when guidebook giant Lonely Planet launched a straw poll on Instagram, users were only allowed to choose one.

We've already given you a few pointers if ever you find yourself in a similar dilemma – for example, villages of under 1,000 inhabitants a stone's throw from the nearest beach, or Mediaeval towns in Spain's coastal provinces (some right on a beach and some a relatively-easy drive away), the towns along Spain's most Flickr'd beaches, and some of the towns housing social media influencers' favourite sites in the Comunidad Valenciana (including Valencia city itself) – but of the top four the Lonely Planet voters plumped for, we haven't yet mentioned three of them.

So, we thought now was a good time to do so – but we're not going to apologise for having left them out until today, because, well, we did tell you Spain had too many for us to choose from, didn't we?

Number four is Calella de Palafrugell, right on the Costa Brava and a village of just 733 residents – you can read all about it in our article mentioned above on municipalities of under 1,000 inhabitants close to the beach; it's the first one featured.

Now for the others.

Number three: Lastres, in Asturias

Retaining its ancient fishing-village essence, with colourful houses, winding narrow streets and seafront mansions, Lastres belongs to the Most Beautiful Villages in Spain (Pueblos Más Bonitos de España) network – and this is no idle boast

It shot to fame when it was used as the scene for the popular TV series, Doctor Mateo, between 2009 and 2011, and the panorama from the San Roque viewing point over the historic quarter – which climbs up the side of a hill directly above the La Griega beach and the green cliffs that drop into the sea – is spectacular. Lastres is not short of visitor attractions, although it's small enough (1,951 inhabitants) that you can practically see them all in a day, and they include the 18th-century Santa María de Sábada church, a blend of neo-classical and Baroque with a splendid altarpiece, pretty little chalet-style houses with wooden balconies and shutters, the Clock Tower (the clock in question comes from London), the brightly-coloured fishing port, the lighthouse out in the mountains four kilometres away, the dinosaur footprints on the beach – find out more about those in the nearby Asturias Jurassic Museum – and the house of the fictitious Doctor Mateo himself.

Our picture two, by Omer Toledano via Wikimedia Commons, will make you want to go back and watch every episode of the show.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE FIRST Spanish-born astronaut is about to go up into space again – at the age of 62.

Miguel Eladio López-Alegría, who carried out three missions to NASA's Space Transport System (STS) and two in the Soyuz between 1995 and 2007, is now heading into the big starry mass in a very different capacity: As a tour guide.

He will be the professional commander on the Space X Crew Dragon, which will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) towards the end of 2021.

The trip, run by Axiom Space, will see three 'space tourists' head out into the Earth's orbit, to the 'floating' headquarters where Spain's current science minister, Pedro Duque, has been based several times.

Miguel López-Alegría retweeted the Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) announcement, which read: “A multi-national crew composed of three private astronauts and @CommanderMLA have now officially signed with Axiom. In other words: The first private crew to go to orbit in human history – the crew of Ax-1 – has been assembled. Mission launches NET late 2021. More details soon.”

He captioned it: “I'm so grateful for this opportunity; we're going to have a #Blast!”

The three 'tourists', who have been given basic astronaut 'training' but who are not space professionals in any way, will be spending around on an orbital complex, experiencing micro-gravity, and catching views of the Earth unique to the ISS – including sunrises every half an hour, as Pedro Duque explained to school children last January, and even the giant tomato greenhouses in the province of Almería.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TRAVELLERS to Spain from countries with a recent high incidence of Covid-19 will be required to show a negative PCR test result at the airport – a new move to keep the nation safe from outside contagion without having to place restrictions on visitors.

Although the UK is still one of the countries that requires anyone arriving from Spain, including British residents who have been on holiday there, to quarantine for 14 days – even with a negative PCR – Spain has opted to go down the testing route instead.

Having to quarantine effectively prevents tourism altogether, since it is extra time that a traveller has to take off work as annual leave, unless he or she already works from home, and is also extremely inconvenient as it stops them from carrying out essential errands, like grocery shopping.

But a PCR test showing a visitor or returner does not have the virus is a better guarantee – even after a completely symptom-free quarantine period, the traveller may still be Covid-positive, but asymptomatic and able to pass it onto others, yet if they are known not to have the virus at all, they cannot infect anyone else.

Already, some countries, such as Malta, are requesting travellers from Spain and various other nations take a PCR test no more than 72 hours before arrival, and have the results to hand either in digital or paper format.

Spain has also set the 72-hour criteria, to allow time for results to filter through – any less and the traveller may end up having to cancel a flight if a delay in their reception crops up.

Although it is quite feasible for a person to be tested and then catch the virus before the results arrive, it is recommended that anyone planning to travel makes arrangements to stay as isolated as possible between testing and flying, if they can.

A PCR test takes under a minute, and results are typically sent by email within 24 to 36 hours.

The process is unpleasant, as the swab has to be inserted some considerable distance up the person's nasal passage, but is only in place for 20 seconds, meaning the sensation stops just before it starts to become unbearable – and, in any case, is very worthwhile, since 20 seconds of pain is far less traumatic than the virus itself and far less inconvenient than being unable to travel.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A TYPICAL homebuyer based in Spain at the moment is female, aged 40, and living with a partner and children, according to recent research.

Now that the pandemic is in its ninth month, estate agencies have collectively said more and more buyers are choosing to wait to 'see what happens', or because they are concerned another lockdown might affect their jobs – in fact, 88% have shelved their plans.

But 21% say they intend to buy a property in the next five years – either their first, or to move house.

Not much has changed in terms of the typical profile of a person already living in Spain and seeking to buy a home since before the pandemic – just over half are female, about half of those with the desire to purchase are aged between 25 and 34, but among those who are expected to actually do so, the average age is 40, and normally from a middle-class background and of mid-range earnings.

Most potential buyers are in Andalucía, Catalunya and Madrid

The regions with the most Spanish residents very seriously considering a purchase, either within the same area or somewhere else altogether, are Andalucía (20%), Catalunya and Madrid (16% each).

Nationwide research by well-known property sales firms has shown the main reasons why those who have opted not to buy at the moment, and the figures are very similar for each to before the days of Covid-19.

About a third say their job situation or income is not conducive to home-buying, and another third say they do not have enough in savings for the deposit and fees, which can be difficult for those not looking to sell a property first, such as those thinking of purchasing a second or subsequent home, or first-time buyers, as mortgages are typically capped at 80% of the price or value, whichever is lower, for a main residence and 60% for an additional property, such as a holiday home or a buy-to-let.

However, a few lenders are still offering 100% mortgages.

A quarter say they have 'other priorities or expenses at the moment', and 22% say they already own a home and are 'not in a hurry to move' right now.

About three in 10 say current property prices are beyond their budget, or that they are currently 'very high' and they prefer to wait to see if they 'slow down in a few years'.

This, of course, depends very much on the area; big cities, for example, have some of the highest home values in the country, but for those willing and able to commute, or who are now working from home – meaning where they live does not affect their jobs – properties out in the provinces, even on the coasts, can be a serious bargain.

The 8% who say they currently live in a town or city other than the one they would like to buy in, and cannot move house for the moment, and the 4% who say they cannot get the mortgage they need or even a mortgage at all, remain unchanged from before the Coronavirus crisis.

Rise in demand for rental

Of those who have ruled out buying at the moment, only 27% still live with their parents, which suggests that a high percentage of young adults are keen to have their own space one day.

Of the 71% of adults living in Spain who have no intention of buying, around 26% live with a partner or spouse, 37% live with a partner or spouse and their children, but only 16% are still living with their parents.

The typical profile of a person who is not looking to buy a property in the foreseeable or even long-term future is male (52%), middle-class, and aged 48.

As well as those who already own a home and are not planning to move, they include residents who prefer to rent, or are currently renting, due to a perceived sense of freedom from responsibility.

Before the pandemic, and now, 3% say renting means they do not have to worry about property maintenance costs, but the number who believe renting gives them 'greater freedom and flexibility' has risen from 9% to 14% and those who say home ownership rather than being a tenant 'does not fit in with their lifestyle' have risen from 8% to 10%.

Fewer, though, since the start of the Coronavirus crisis, are saying property purchase prices are beyond their budget (down from 19% to 18%), or that they do not want to spend the bulk of their savings on a deposit or income on a mortgage (down from 13% to 12%).

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ALL IS not lost for the beach tourism industry – in fact, warmer parts of the country are starting to become destinations of choice even for those with no annual leave left.

The pandemic brought a sudden, enforced change in job practices, with everyone who was able to do so working from home during lockdown, and this has continued for many employees even after the confinement ceased.

Some parts of Spain are starting to see restrictions once again, but these are, typically, a ban on travelling into, rather than out of, the region where you live.

For that reason, residents in northern and inland parts who have holiday homes in coastal areas they use for summer and long weekends have been upping sticks and moving to them where their jobs allow them to – and if they work from home, they are not restricted as to where they live or stay.

And some workers who do not have holiday homes have even temporarily moved in where the weather is better.

The Canary Islands is swiftly becoming a remote-worker's paradise, according to its regional government.

“It's sunny, I can work well, I can carry on enjoying life and I feel safer than at home, in terms of the Coronavirus,” one worker reports.

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SPAIN'S leader Pedro Sánchez has sent his congratulations to Joe Biden for winning the US elections and becoming president, and to Kamala Harris, the first female deputy president in the North American nation's history and only the second black American in a position of this calibre, after Barack Obama.

Sánchez has wished them both 'lots of luck' and stressed Spain and its government is ready and willing to 'cooperate' with the USA in the face of the 'huge global challenges' the world's population is facing.

“The American people have elected their 46^th president. Congratulations, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I wish you both luck,” Spain's socialist (PSOE) leader tweeted, in Spanish and also in English, a language he speaks fluently.

Although Sánchez has not specifically defined the 'huge global challenges' Spain is 'ready and willing' to help with, it seems likely he includes the Covid-19 pandemic in this description, and also climate change, an issue over which acting and outgoing president Donald Trump pulled the USA out of cooperation with the EU, which by default, included Spain.

Trump, who lost the elections after his four-year term as POTUS came to an end this month, had pulled the country out of the Paris Agreement on climate change action, as he does not believe in it, but Democrat leader Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin it.

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A MAINTENANCE man from northern Spain has patented an anti-virus mask which stays on the face using magnets, eliminating the need for elastic ear-loops, ties and head-bands.

Daniel Alaguero, 47, from Avilés, Asturias says: “The idea came to me after my first day back at work [after a month and a half on furlough] in a mask, which I wore for eight hours. That same day I designed a small, basic prototype with double-sided sticky-tape, and from there on, I embarked on a journey that has taken four months.”

He had tried out 'loads of different fixing systems' which 'did not work', until his wife suggested he tried with magnets and a flexible metallic 'bridge' over the nose.

“The mask works with any type of frame, and I don't think the use of magnets will pose a problem, as they don't stick directly to the skin,” Daniel says.

Whether they are held on by elastic or ties going round the back of the head or by loops over each ear, masks can become uncomfortable for this reason, leaving painful marks in the skin.

Also, the elastic stretches to the point where masks no longer stay in place, or in some cases, become detached – something that always seems to happen when the wearer is out of the house, in a public place, and does not have a spare one to hand.

Daniel's 'magnetic mask' is a design aimed at the reusable FFP2 types, since they are rigid enough to keep the cordless fastenings in place.

A variation on the theme is an elastic-less mask designed to adhere to spectacles, for those who wear these all or most of the time.

He is already negotiating with various companies to arrange for his creation to be manufactured, distributed and sold.

“There are people interested, but the problem is that they want to manufacture it only, not to sell it,” explains the boiler and heating engineer.

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ALICANTE-ELCHE airport will be renamed after the Mediterranean province's most famous poet, Miguel Hernández – an announcement made on the exact day of what would have been his 110^th birthday.

The literary icon, born in Orihuela, southern Alicante province, died young, a victim of dictator General Franco's forces.

Although sentenced to death when he was jailed in March 1940, aged 29, Hernández was not one of the estimated hundreds of thousands executed by firing squad; he caught tuberculosis whilst behind bars, and the permit for his transfer to the specialist hospital in Valencia came too late – he passed away on March 28, 1942 in the prison's medical wing.

Hernández, who was romantically linked for a time with celebrated artist Maruja Mallo and who was married to Josefina Manresa, had joined the Republicans and the Communist Party of Spain – a more socialist and 'pure' form of communism than that which characterised the countries east of the Iron Curtain, based upon shared wealth and guaranteed minimum living standards, and one of the main movements which opposed Franco's fascist régime.

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NUNS who took up the 'Jerusalema Challenge' and staged a group dance to 'cheer the world up' have gone viral on social media, much to their delight.

Based at the San Miguel Monastery in Trujillo (Cáceres province), they decided to film themselves dancing to a song that has become something of a pandemic 'anthem', as its lyrics speak of hope for the future.

“The idea came from our sisters in Kenya, who've got natural rhythm in their blood,” says Mother Inmaculada, the Prioress.

“They loved the song because the lyrics are so beautiful – they express the nostalgia one feels when away from Jerusalem.

“We wanted to send out a message of home to the world today, where people live in anguish, feeling desolate because of being confined, their pain at so many losses and at the tragedy of the pandemic.”

The video – a screen-shot from which is shown above, by Cosmefotos on YouTube – features all 18 nuns from the Trujillo convent, and who range in age from 28 to 91.

Its expansion worldwide in mainstream media as well as through Twitter, Facebook and similar platforms has 'surpassed all their expectations', Mother Inmaculada says.

“Even though we're already on Facebook, we didn't expect to transcend borders like this,” she comments.

“We're really pleased, really happy – it seems people needed this. We want to spread hope, to remind everyone that the pandemic will, eventually, pass.”

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SPAIN'S top 100 wealthiest residents have been revealed in the annual Forbes list, with no change for the man who has topped it now for many years: Amancio Ortega, who founded the Inditex empire in Galicia with his ex-wife, the late Rosalía Mera.

The clothing corporation, whose most famous brand is Zara, is in fact behind the top two richest Spaniards and is largely responsible for the fortune belonging to the country's wealthiest female – Amancio's daughter through his first marriage to Rosalía, Sandra Ortega Mera – although her total assets are less than a tenth of those of her father.

Whilst Amancio Ortega is reportedly worth €57 billion, Sandra's wealth is cited as €5.6bn.

Nothing has changed for the third-richest Spaniard, and second-wealthiest man in the country, either: This continues to be Juan Roig Alfonso, who started up a small, family-run grocery shop just outside Valencia which went on to become one of the nation's largest and most-used supermarket chains, Mercadona.

With a fortune of €4.1bn, Roig's chain has also helped make his wife, Hortensia Herrero, sixth-wealthiest Spaniard – she holds 27% of the shares, whilst her husband owns 50% - and, with €2.4bn to her name, she is also the second-richest woman in the country.

Alicia Koplowitz, owner of Omega Capital, is Spain's third-richest woman, with €2.2bn in assets, and comes seventh.

Fourth overall is Rafael del Pino Calvo-Sotelo, CEO of rail transport corporation Ferrovial – founded by his father, Rafael del Pino Senior – with €3.2bn, whilst his sister, María del Pino Calvo-Sotelo is eighth-wealthiest in Spain and the fourth-richest woman with €1.9bn in assets, and his twin brother Leopoldo is number 13 with a €1.4bn fortune.

Figures are rounded up to the nearest million, so even though number 12 is said to own €1.4bn in assets, the exact amount is marginally – on paper – higher than that of Leopoldo del Pino Calvo-Sotelo; Manuel Lao, ex-owner of gaming and casino company Cirsa, recently made the Barcelona-province village of Matadepera Spain's richest municipality by mean average income per head after selling most of his firm.

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KIDS and young adults who decided to clean up their city after a night of vandalism and disturbance have earned the heartfelt praises of their national president on Twitter.

Saturday night saw at least six people arrested in Logroño, the regional capital of La Rioja, after staging a mini-riot in protest over new restrictions on movement in an effort to contain the spread of the virus, and seven police officers sustained minor injuries.

Several of those involved were identified, although not arrested at the time, after blocking off roads with wheelie-bins and lighting fires in the street.

Piles of rubbish, graffiti, the remains of burning bins, and smashed-up street furniture created a grim panorama on the main Paseo de El Espolón on Sunday morning.

Disgusted by what an anti-social minority had done to his city, a 16-year-old man, whose mother is a street-sweeper, posted a video on social media calling for his friends – and anyone else watching – to join him in clearing up the mess.

“I don't think it's particularly normal that reinforcements have to be sent in to repair damage caused by a handful of thoughtless people last night,” the youth said when reporters from the national television and radio broadcaster, RTVE, interviewed him live.

“We're fed up, actually, with all of us young people having to suffer the consequences of the actions of just one small group.”

Dozens of teenagers joined him in sweeping and bagging up rubbish and moving damaged fixtures into safe places, repairing what they could with the means they had available, and putting bins, benches and other items back in their rightful places.

At a time when Spain's youth is, justifiably or unjustifiably, getting bad press due to the fact that at least a slim majority of Covid-19 cases are originating from social gatherings – particularly those where groups of friends fail to take precautions – national president Pedro Sánchez was quick to give the younger generations the praise they so often deserve.

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LONG-TERM residents in Marbella have been reflecting on how their town became transformed when Sean Connery bought his home there 50 years ago to escape the paparazzi, turning the Costa del Sol municipality into an icon of silver-screen glory.

Marbella in the 1970s became synonymous with glamorous cocktail parties and A-listers, home to the likes of Omar Sharif, Audrey Hepburn, Sofia Loren and Deborah Kerr – but although their presence there was rumoured, it was rarely confirmed in the flesh by the general public as they had all moved there for the same reason: Not to be disturbed when they were off duty.

Probably the most famous 007 ever, Connery – who passed away aged 90 on Saturday – chose Marbella because it would mean he was out of the limelight and the paparazzi would not find him, given that it was a quiet farming town and even the richest and most famous on the planet could mingle without fear of being recognised and, even if they were, indeed, recognised, would not be treated any differently to the other locals.

The Indiana Jones star spent at least 15 years of his life living in relative tranquillity in Villa Malibú, halfway between Puerto Banús and San Pedro Alcántara, with his only visitors being close friends popping round for a drink or attending parties – visitors who were generally as famous as he was, or is, but who were also able to live a pressure-free life.

Doctor Zhivago star Omar Sharif spent weeks at a time living with Connery at Villa Malibu (second picture, from La Opinión de Málaga), spending entire summers together, although according to sources close by, they tended only to coincide in the evenings, with Sharif reportedly placing multi-million bets in Marbella Casino and his James Bond friend whiling away his hours on the golf course.

Another close friend and regular long-term visitor at Connery's villa was Michael Caine, according to the British press, and one of his neighbours was rocker Rod Stewart, who is said to have moved to Sotogrande when Marbella began to become such a celebrity hang-out that the paparazzi knew exactly where to look.

It is universally acknowledged that Sean Connery's presence in Marbella contributed to its becoming a magnet for film producers and actors during an entire generation.

To Jason Connery, also an actor, the seven-times James Bond and Best Supporting Actor Oscar-winner was just 'dad'.

“It's a sad day for everyone who knew and loved my father,” he said in a media statement on Saturday.

He reported that his dad had been 'unwell for some time', and that his family was around his bedside when he passed away at his home in Nassau, in the Bahamas.

Jason is Sean Connery's only son, through the actor's second and current marriage to Micheline Roquebrune – the couple is shown in the first picture, taken at Schipol airport, Amsterdam, in 1983 (from Wikimedia Commons).

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1930, Sean Connery never, in fact, won an Oscar for his 007 rôles or as Indiana Jones' father – the award came for his part as Jim Malone, a hard veteran cop in The Untouchables, in 1987.

He played Harrison Ford's dad in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989 and captain of a Soviet submarine in The Hunt for Red October (1990), 

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WHETHER you're green-fingered or can't keep a plastic cactus alive, moving to Spain is likely to change your long-held assumptions about your plant-growing abilities, and completely unsettle 50% of everything you knew about anything horticultural.

The other 50% will turn out to be exactly the same as in your native country, just when you'd resigned yourself to having to relearn it all.

But if you're only fair-to-middling in terms of the shrub-care skills ranking, you probably won't even be able to predict which bits are radically different and which bits are radically identical until you've been here for a year and seen how your greenery pans out in every season.

And then been here a second year, to check last year wasn't fluke.

Or perhaps a third year, to work out the majority pattern.

Easy greenery for the unskilled: Bury a tomato

If you're convinced you're a cretin in the cultivation department, bury some vegetables and pop them out in the sun, watering them whenever the soil feels dry and perhaps flinging some evergreen plant-feed on the roots (it costs about €3 in a Chinese bazaar). This sounds slapdash and over-simplified, but if you've only ever lived in apartments, it may be all you can handle – and you're probably good at lots of other things, so there's no shame in it.

Even if you don't get actual tomatoes and peppers, you should get a plant, they're typically low-maintenance other than constant watering, grow like weeds, and keep re-shooting after they appear to have died. Tomato plants thrive best in spring and early summer in a sunny environment, but high summer is too harsh for them and by September or October, any fruit you didn't get probably isn't going to happen until next year. Pepper plants may look as though they're not going to play until, suddenly, just as autumn unfolds, so do they, blooming with white flowers that become juicy green bulbs in days.

Many new residents in Spain, or holiday-home owners who know they will be away from their property for months at a time, opt for low-maintenance ornamental plants like cacti and aloe vera. These either shrivel up at the first sign of incompetent care or appear to be indestructible – if the former is the case, replacements are cheap to buy in every size from golf-ball to beach-ball, and on sale almost everywhere.

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