Initial response measures
23 January 2020: Surveillance and monitoring mechanisms to detect cases coming from China were activated. All suspicious cases were isolated upon arrival to Spain and potential contacts investigated.
25 February 2020: People with mild symptoms that would have been visiting high-risk areas or in contact with people infected from those areas (China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Iran and Italy) were confined for two weeks and potential contacts further investigated.
28 February 2020: cases (possible or confirmed COVID-19) with mild symptoms are requested to stay at home in self-isolation and are followed up by a home care team, via telephone but with home visits or immediate hospitalization if needed (Home care for patients with COVID-19: https://www.mscbs.gob.es).
Sentences, fines and imprisonments are part of the punishment if individuals do not comply with the regulations established by the state of alarm, which started in the country 14 March 2020 (see Section 1.2). While the state of alarm does not detail specific punishments for those not following the self-isolation and quarantine recommendations, the regulation of the state of alarm foresees the application of the sectoral laws, and hence, it is understood that the 2011 General Law of Public Health (Law 33/2011 of 4 october) would be applied regarding crimes against public health (https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2011-15623).
Transition measures
Since 15 May 2020, and while the “state of alarm” is ongoing, travellers from other countries will remain quarantined for 14 days. They will only be allowed to leave their lodging (e.g. hotels, home, etc.) to buy first need products, visit healthcare centres or force majeure; in any of those cases, they will have to wear a face mask. Cross-border workers, drivers and public transport crews, as well as healthcare personnel with no record of exposure to COVID-19 patients, are exempt from this limitation (Order SND/403/2020 https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2020-4932).
On 22 June 2020, the guidelines (strategy) for early diagnosis, surveillance and control of COVID-19 were updated, stating that those people considered close contacts but already vaccinated are exempted from quarantining if they test negative. They will get a second PCR test in seven days after the contact of risk. In the meantime, they must avoid contact with vulnerable and non-vaccinated people, avoid mass events and wear face masks when social interacting. As exceptions, immunosuppressed close contacts and close contacts of a confirmed case infected by a variable of concern (excluding B.1.1.7) will have to quarantine.
In addition, asymptomatic close contacts that have passed the disease in the previous 180 days are also exempted from
On 12 August 2020, guidelines (strategy) for early diagnosis, surveillance and control of COVID-19 were updated regarding the people exempted from quarantining. Since then, fully vaccinated people deemed close contacts should be quarantined if they are immunosuppressed or are contacts of a confirmed case infected by the beta or gamma variant or are close contacts of a confirmed case allegedly infected by a mink (https://www.mscbs.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/ccayes/alertasActual/nCov/documentos/COVID19_Estrategia_vigilancia_y_control_e_indicadores.pdf).
On 7 September 2020, the Public Health Commission updated the Guidelines to manage COVID-19 in educational centres according to the latest version of the strategy for early diagnosis, surveillance, and control of COVID-19. Hence, those students, teachers or any personnel in educational centers deemed close contacts who were already vaccinated or diagnosed of COVID-19 in the previous 180 days, will be exempted from quarantining (https://www.mscbs.gob.es/gabinete/notasPrensa.do?id=5465).
On 21 December 2020, the Public Health Commission updated the guidelines for early diagnosis, surveillance, and control of COVID-19 regarding quarantine. Fully vaccinated people deemed close contacts are exempted from quarantining (including those cases caused by the Omicron variant that were recommended to quarantining in the previous update of 1 December 2020). Instead, they are advised to carry out only essential activities and to reduce social contacts in the 10 days after the contact with the infected case. They are also recommended being tested (by PCR preferably) at least once during these 10 days (https://www.mscbs.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/ccayes/alertasActual/nCov/documentos/COVID19_Estrategia_vigilancia_y_control_e_indicadores.pdf).
On 29 December 2020, the Public Health Commission agreed on reducing the isolation of asymptomatic people or with mild symptoms from 10 to 7 days if, at the end of the period, the patient is still asymptomatic and has passed at least three days without any symptom. This norm also applies to cases occurring in nursing and socio-health care centres, but workers in these centres will be tested (antigen test) before returning to their job. In any case, until 10 days after the diagnosis or beginning of the symptoms, patients have to reduce social interaction, above all with vulnerable people.
In the same line, those non-vaccinated close contacts have to quarantine seven days instead of the former 10 days, provided they do not show any symptom during that period (https://www.mscbs.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/ccayes/alertasActual/nCov/documentos/Adaptacion_estrategia_vigilancia_y_control.pdf).
As of 4 March 2022, quarantine will no longer be mandatory for non-vaccinated close contacts. As in the case of vaccinated close contacts, they are advised to reduce social interaction and wear face masks, especially with vulnerable people, during 10 days after the exposure to an infected case (https://www.sanidad.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/ccayes/alertasActual/nCov/documentos/Acuerdo_eliminacion_cuarentena_20220301.pdf)
On 22 March 2022, the Public Health Commission agreed on the new Strategy for surveillance and control of COVID-19 after the pandemic acute phase. This Strategy will be implemented when health services utilisation indicators are at low risk, overall and in more than half of the regions.
In this new period, those confirmed cases which are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms will not be isolated and their closed contacts will not be quarantined (Update of the Strategy for surveillance and control of COVID-19 https://www.sanidad.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/ccayes/alertasActual/nCov/documentos/Nueva_estrategia_vigilancia_y_control.