The SpTH health app enabled safe mobility of over 52 million travellers

The Spanish government have announced that 52,709,223 travellers that came to Spain during the pandemic used the SpTH app, known as the locator form in the UK, that the Ministry of Health launched in April 2020 to contribute to health controls at airports and ports and to help recover mobility.

This figure represents 94.12% of travellers as some domestic travellers were exempt from filling in the form, and this data shows that the system was a success in helping to ensure public health, and progressively allowing the safe resumption of the tourism sector.

“The objective of the system was to facilitate mobility, guarantee public health, and allow the gradual resumption of economic activity safely. SpTH’s success is reflected in the degree of traveller satisfaction and the low level of litigation it has generated since only four claims were registered,” the government statement reads.

Moreover, they also noted that this system, which was recently presented at the plenary session of the Inter-territorial Health Council, was launched in record time, as was its homogenization with similar tools used in other European countries.

Last month, the Spanish government announced that the country’s Ministry of Health has decided to automatically update all EU Digital Certificates for COVID, which were set to expire before June 30th of this year, and has started sending electronic notifications with the updated form.

As the government explains, this is a precautionary measure in case there is a rebound in Covid and reimplementation of travel restrictions, not necessarily in Spain, but in other destinations. Once citizens whose certificates have been updated receive the notification, they will have the opportunity to download the updated certificate with the new validity period.

Further, the government added that anyone who wants to renew their certificate can reapply for the document through the Ministry of Health website.

The Spanish authorities kept strict entry rules in place due to COVID, following the example of other European countries. However, in October the government decided to abolish all entry measures for third-country travellers, but have recently imposed a test for arrivals from China, as they are facing a surge in the number of COVID-19 infections.