10th of May 2020
The corona virus has caused an insecure future. We know for sure that Fontebona is an excellent place to keep physical (not social!) distance and for avoiding masses. Tranquility and space always have been important here. Please give us a notice in time if you want to visit us, in order for us to take the adecuate corona steps.
People residing in Asturias are allowed to visit their family and friends from the 11th of May, and can also visit Fontebona again. This is fase 1 of 4
In one of the next weeks people residing in Spain are free to travel outside their region again. So you know people who will have to spend their free time in Spain? Would they feel at home in Fontebona? Why don't you tell them about us.
As yet it is unclear when people from outside Spain will be admitted again.
Time will tell. We will try to keep you informed about recent developments through updates on this page.

21st of May 2020
Monday the 25th of May Asturias enters fase 2: https://www.elcomercio.es/sociedad/salud/coronavirus-graficos/fases-desescalada-nueva-20200430174924-ntrc.html. Or if you want more information about a specific municipality: https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/MAPA-Consulta-fase-desescalada-municipio-territorio-18-mayo_0_1025048463.html.
The vice-president of Spain, Teresa Ribera, foresees the Spanish borders will reopen for foreigners end of June, beginning of July "when safety is guaranteed": https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/portada/teresa-ribera-situa-la-vuelta-del-turismo-extranjero-seguro-en-julio/10010-4251647.

24th of May 2020
According to Spanish president Sánchez they will open the borders end of June, beginning of July: https://elpais.com/economia/2020-05-23/sanchez-anuncia-que-este-verano-habra-temporada-turistica-y-que-los-turistas-extranjeros-entraran-desde-julio.html

27th of May 2020
The question is no longer if or when Spain will open the borders, but if people are allowed to leave their country to travel to Spain for example.

3rd of June 2020
Most Schengen countries will open their borders to travellers from the 15th of June. Despite this decision quite a few uncertainties remain. Spain decides only after the 15th of June if and when she will open her borders. Asturias will probably enter fase 3 next Monday 8th of June. If the numbers in Asturias stay favourable, it is quite certain that Asturias will open up within the limits of the "new normal" beginning July.

4th of June 2020
The minister of Turism, Reyes Maroto, assured this Thursday that Spain will withdraw the restrictions at the Portuguese and French borders from the 22nd of June. (Reuters)

11th of June 2020
The news remains uncertain and contradictory. Minister Reyes Maroto rectified her message later. The spanish borders will probably only open the 1st of July.

15th of June 2020
The border soap does not stop entertaining us. According to yesterday's news, Spain will open her borders to the Schengen countries from the 21st of June on. The spanish-portuguese border will remain closed until the 1st of July though. https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/sociedad/2020/06/14/espana-abrira-lunes-22-fronteras-europa-salvo-portugal-pide-1-julio/00031592124812404898100.htm

21st of June 2020
As of today people are free to travel without any restrictions in Spain, and from and to the Schengen countries (except Portugal). A mask is mandatory in public transport and in places where it is impossible to maintain the compulsory one and a half metre distance.

29th of June 2020
We're off the track. Apparently the borders in the end will only open on the 1st of July. We give up. Sigh...
Meanwhile Asturias has her 18th day in a row without positive corona cases today.

16th of July 2020
Asturias stayed without new corona cases for 25 days. Unfortunately that beautiful sequence got interrupted by a few contaminated people coming back from places like Galicia, Barcelona and the Dominican Republic. Now again Asturias is without new contaminations for quite a few days already. Meanwhile Asturias is considered being the exemplary region whose successful approach is copied by the other Spanish regions.
Since yesterday a mask is compulsory in urban areas and also in rural areas where crowds are recorded.

24th of August 2020
A lot of European countries (e.g. United Kingdom and Germany) applied code orange for travelling to Spain already. From midnight this measure applies for residents in the Netherlands as well. All unnecessary travel is advised against. It is strongly recommended to go into home quarantine after homecoming.

12th of October 2020
In the entire country, but now in Asturias as well, the number of covid cases is rising to what seems to become a plateau instead of a new contamination peak.

26th of October 2020
Asturias is closed for incoming and outgoing traffic as of now. Not that Asturias is doing a bad job compared to other region's. President Barbón took fast precautionary measures in spring and does so again now for Asturias. https://www.elcomercio.es/asturias/coronavirus-asturias-barbon-anuncia-cierre-perimentral-asturias-20201026140350-nt.html
In Fontebona the special activities will be limited to six people as yet.

6th of November 2020
Asturias is getting more and more locked down. For that reason there will be no special activities in Fontebona for the time being. For an explanation in spanish about the situation, have a look at https://www.elcomercio.es/asturias/coronavirus-asturias-preguntas-respuestas-cierre-asturias-20201104000651-ntvo.html

23rd of November 2020
The last few weeks the degree of contaminations in Asturias looks more like a sierra than a meseta. Nevertheless the number of infections is very slowly decreasing. Several asturian municipalities closed their boundaries, thus creating an enclosure within an already enclosed Asturias.

10th of December 2020
Hotel and catering industry, commerce, sports and culture will reopen from the 14th of December in Asturias. There will be restrictions according to the sector: https://www.lavozdeasturias.es/noticia/asturias/2020/12/09/seran-reaperturas-hosteleria-comercio-deporte-cultura/00031607547329580358827.htm

24th of December 2020
These days things go very well in Asturias. Asturias has one of the lowest rates of Spain. Nevertheless the borders between the autonomous communities will stay closed. The holidays are an exception for relatives who want to get together. They do have the opportunity to travel between the communities. Source: https://www.lavozdeasturias.es/noticia/asturias/2020/12/23/asturias-comunidad-mejores-datos-contagios-ultima-semana/00031608745718640189406.htm

13th of January 2021
Asturias has the best numbers of Spain these days, and is even one of the best performing regions in the world. Asturias did recently enter the third wave though. Let's hope the consequences of more flexible regulations around the end-of-year celebrations keep limited to a little wave. Bars and restaurants have to close at 20:00 o'clock. There is a curfew between 22:00 and 6:00 o'clock. Asturias keeps her boundaries closed.

28th of January 2021
The third wave is attacking Spain heavily. Asturias is suffering from the third covid wave as well, though the effects are relatively mild here. Asturias remains closed for in and outbound traffic. As a special mesure those municipalities with too high rates of covid are locked down for at least 14 days. Piloña, the municipality where Fontebona is situated, does have good numbers. We have little contaminations. See the following link if you want to see how Asturias is doing: https://dgspasturias.shinyapps.io/panel_de_indicadores_asturias/

18th of February 2021
There are quite a few contaminations in our municipality Piloña. As a first. And as a first we know the people in question, or we know them indirectly. It is getting closer. In the meantime the number of contaminations in Asturias as a whole (and in Piloña as well) is going down. The third wave is clearly on the way down, though two thirds of all contaminations is now of the British variant. Asturias remains closed for in and outbound traffic. There still is a curfew between 22:00 and 6:00 o'clock.

22nd of February 2021
Piloña will be closed for in and outgoing trafic from this Wednesday on. "The numbers of the Observatorio de la Salud show that the number of contaminations in 14 days for each 100.000 inhabitants has grown in Piloña in the last few days. Meaning it will stay closed for in and outgoing trafic from this Wednesday. In fact, with 516 cases on the 20th of February (the last published day), it is reaching the maximum of the third wave. Also, numbers are at a rise for three days in a row and stay above 300 from the 11th of February on, therefore Salud has decided to apply the perimeter closure and the rest of the restrictions that go with level 4+."
Source: https://www.lavozdeasturias.es/noticia/asturias/2021/02/22/pilona-entra-nivel-extremo-alerta-aller-lena-seguiran-hosteleria-cerrada/00031613999443227562593.htm
Asturias as a whole does have better numbers.

9th of March 2021
Piloña will stay locked for another two weeks, though the decision will be reconsidered after a week. In the concrete this means the municipality will stay closed until Wednesday the 17th or until the 24th of March. As a consequence Asociación Fontebona will also suspend her activities. Source: https://lacronicadepilona.com/pilona-otros-15-dias-de-cierre-perimetral/
Because of the omnipresence of the British variety (96,4%) the number of infections stayed stable this last week instead of continuing to go down and is now slightly going up. This possibly is the start of the fourth wave.
In Spain the number of vaccinated people is the highest in Asturias. At this moment 13.000 for each 100.000 inhabitants. Source: https://www.elcomercio.es/sociedad/salud/dosis-vacuna-espana-comunidades-20210105201438-ntrc.html

23rd of March 2021
Piloña opens her borders again on the 24th of March. The numbers in Asturias stay more or less stable. The number of contaminated people slows down, but the number of vaccinated people goes up rather fast. Asturias hopes to have vaccinated 70% of her population by summer.

21st of April 2021
From Friday the 23rd of April the restaurants will open their spaces inside until eleven o'clock PM. The state of alarm will continue until the 9th of May, but will stop that day for sure. There will probably be new less rigid limitations which will vary from autonomous community to autonomous community. Meanwhile Asturias has given a first vaccination to more than 25% of her inhabitants and more than 11% have been completely vaccinated already.

22nd of April 2021
Turns out the press spoke too soon yesterday. Bars and restaurants will, contrary to what the catering industry proposed before, not have less limitations regarding access to the interiors of their establishments.

6th of May 2021
From the 9th of May the autonomous communities will open their borders again. Also the enclosure which Asturias could issue on a municipal level, will disappear. More specific measures will stay possible, when the number of contaminations goes up again. The restrictions will remain intact in other areas. You may for instance meet people outside, but the distance has to be at least 1,5m or with a mask. Also there are maximum quantities for gatherings in- and outside. This means for Fontebona that there are hardly any remaining restrictions, because practically all activities here are outdoors anyway. The sanitary area is the only place with restrictions, because maximally two persons may enter that space. Which in actual practice was the case already for practical reasons anyway, so this is no change for Fontebona.

22nd of May 2021
Spain opens her borders for all travellers from the following ten non-EU countries: United Kingom, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Israel, South Corea, Thailand and Rwanda. As for now already travellers from safe european countries don't have to comply with health regulations regarding their entry. Those coming from other countries can enter from the 7th of June with a valid PCR-test or the proof of a complete vaccination. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-let-vaccinated-travellers-non-eu-countries-june-7-2021-05-21/

30th of June 2021
The number of contaminations between the young in both Asturias and Spain go up since the school year has finished. Therefore Spain remains a danger zone. The vaccinations still go very well in Asturias. Today 51% of those elder than 16 years have their vaccination completed and 75% have received a first dosis.

13th of August 2021
Asturias has reached a milestone: 70% of all the inhabitants has been completely vaccinated (77% of those older than eleven). The youth wave is on the wane. Because of the higher level of contamination there are extra restrictions in the bigger (tourist) cities like Gijón, Oviedo and Llanes, but all in all the new normal takes its usual course.

6th of October 2021
This Saturday the 9th of October 2021 the new normal begins in Asturias. All restrictions will be suspended in Asturias. Only the national rule of keeping 1.5m distance and the use of a mask if that distance cannot be maintained, remain in force. Also the mask still has to be used inside. The restrictions can be lifted because the number of contaminations is very low and the amount of people vaccinated is very high.

10th of January 2022
Prime Minister Sánchez expects measures to be taken soon to regard covid as a normal flu. He says that Covid is becoming more endemic and, with the favorable development of the omicron variant, it is starting to move beyond the pandemic stage. More than 90% of the Spanish population aged 12 years and older has now been vaccinated. https://elpais.com/sociedad/2022-01-10/espana-ultima-un-plan-para-crear-un-sistema-de-vigilancia-para-la-covid-como-una-gripe-comun.html

5th of March 2022
Infection rates continue to decline steadily in Spain and Asturias. Restrictions such as wearing a mask indoors are still in force, but these measures are also diminishing.

26th of April 2022
Infection rates continue to go up in Asturias for many weeks among those over 60. Since a week, face masks are only mandatory in health centers. Companies and institutions without a public function may request visitors to wear a mask inside.

16th of July 2022
There was a summer wave of covid, but like last year, it is on the decline now. However, the figures for hospital admissions are still rising. In any case, the numbers are much less severe than in 2021. Not to mention 2020.