Spain has tightened requirements for air travelers entering the country from Mozambique and eight other African states considered to be at high risk from the progression of the new variant of the Omicron coronavirus.

If these documents cannot be obtained in the stipulated languages, passengers must provide an accredited supporting document, which must be accompanied by a Spanish translation performed by an official body.

The countries considered high risk and covered by the requirements defined by the Spanish authorities are: Botswana, Essuatíni (formerly Swaziland), Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Covid-19 has caused more than 5.40 million deaths worldwide since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest report from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The respiratory disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, detected in late 2019 in Wuhan, a city in central China, and currently with variants identified in several countries.

A new variant, Omicron, considered worrisome by the WHO, has been detected in Southern Africa, but since the South African health authorities gave the alert on November 24, infections have been reported in at least 110 countries, with Portugal dominating.

Source Lusa