Covid-19 procedures for visiting astronomers

, guests, contractors and visiting groups

UPDATED 01.03.2023

CHANGES TO THIS POLICY IN JUNE 2021

Minor changes implemented in this page In late June 2021, to adapt procedures to updates from the Canarian and Spanish Governments.

The following two links give updated status of these government rules:

• Health requisites for travellers, Canarian Government.
• Spain Travel Health. Spanish Government.

COVID-19 REGULATIONS FOR ASTRONOMERS AND CONTRACTORS VISITING THE ING

The Isaac Newton Group (ING) have maintained effective level of operation and development activities since late spring 2020. As the national and international vaccination campaigns reach to a large fraction of the population, we maintain our focus and highest priority on the safety and well-being of staff, which can be effectively protected in the relative isolation of the observatory. We ask all prospective visiting astronomers and external contractors planning a visit to ING facilities to follow the guidelines given here (we remind visiting astronomers that it is necessary to follow the procedure described at our planning web pages, and in particular, to submit the ING bookings form in advance of the observations): 

Visitors originating in the Island of La Palma or in other Canary Islands: 

MARCH 2023

• Remove of obligation for Declaration of Responsibility.

REQUERIMENTS FOR ACCESSING TO ING FACILITIES

Visitors (regardless origin):  

• No specific rule is in place at ING facilities regarding Covid-19. Nevertheless, you must at all times follow ING practices related to COVID-19 as instructed by their ING contact. 

Visitors originating in the rest of Spain: 

1. Points 1, 2, 3 above
2. According to Canarian Health Authorities regulation, all visitors originating in any of the Comunidades Autónomas in Spain must carry out 
   1. Negative certificate of a Diagnostic Test of Active Infection,  carried out in the seventy-two hours prior to arrival in Spain, with either one of these tests,
      1. A PCR.
      2. Fast antigen tests for SARS-COV-2 with a specificity of 97% and a sensitivity of over 80%.
      3. Transcription-Mediated Amplification (TMA).
3. Visitors arriving without a negative test result will be required to undergo a quick test by the ING Health Provider before being allowed in ING premises. A list of Laboratories available for this purpose has been published by Canarian Government (Lab list). 
4. A positive result in this will require a subsequent rt-PCR test at the Servicio Canario de Salud for confirmation. A negative result in either will be enough to allow the visitor access to ING premises. A positive rt-PCR will require self-isolation in La Palma under the supervision of the health authorities, and will likely imply restrictions for traveling back home.  
   1. for visiting astronomers, ING Administration (bookings@ing.iac.es) will request this information once the visitor has filled the bookings form. 
   2. for contractors, ING Administration will request this information as part of the 'Coordinación de Actividades Empresariales'. 

We realise these measures are cumbersome. But they will go a long way toward preserving the safety of the observatory environment. We do thank in advance all prospective visitors for your patience. 

Visitors originating in Risk Countries/Areas (outside Spain).

1. All visitors originating in countries/areas listed as risky by the Spanish national authorities (updated list here), must have a Sworn Statement for Health Inspection (links to forms available at the bottom of this site), and one of the following documents:
   1. Document certifying vaccination against COVID-19.
   2. Negative certificate of a Diagnostic Test of Active Infection,  carried out in the seventy-two hours prior to arrival in Spain, with either one of these tests,
      1. A PCR.
      2. Fast antigen tests for SARS-COV-2 with a specificity of 97% and a sensitivity of over 80%.
      3. Transcription-Mediated Amplification (TMA).
   3. Certificate of Recovery after having passed Covid-19.
2. They must come with a provision of face masks for their use while at ING premises
3. They must at all times follow ING practices related to COVID-19 as instructed by their ING contact. 

We realise these measures are cumbersome. But they will go a long way toward preserving the safety of the observatory environment. We do thank in advance all prospective visitors for your patience. 

Visitors originating in Countries/Areas not included in the list of Risk Countries/Areas (outside Spain).

1. All visitors originating outside Spain, but from Countries/Areas not included in the list of Risk Countries/Areas, will only need to fill out the Health Control Form

Residencia services

• Although ING doesn’t have specific rules regarding COVID and access to ING facilities, visitors should be prudent and avoid access to the facilities when they are ill.

• After your visit: In the event that you test positive for COVID-19 in the two weeks after you left ING, we kindly ask you to notify ING Administration, to allow us to carry out appropriate tracing. 

LINKS TO OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT POLICIES

For reference, the following two links give updated status of government rules from the Canarian and Spanish Governments, which the Isaac Newton Group follows to a large extent: 

• Health requisites for travellers, Canarian Government.
• Spain Travel Health. Spanish Government (who arrive from countries that do NOT belong to the European Union or do NOT have the status of Schengen associated countries)

RESIDENCIA SERVICES

Those visitors planning to use services at the ORM Residencia should additionally check Residencia COVID-19 information at at: 

https://www.iac.es/en/observatorios-de-canarias/roque-de-los-muchachos-observatory/services (English)

https://www.iac.es/es/observatorios-de-canarias/observatorio-del-roque-de-los-muchachos/servicios (Spanish)

After your visit 

In the event that you test positive for COVID-19 in the two weeks after you left ING, we kindly ask you to notify ING Administration, to allow us to carry out appropriate tracing. 

Forms (Docs need to be downloaded for properly open).

Declaration of Responsibility COVID 19

Declaración Responsable COVID 19

Sworn Statement for Health Inspection Form COVID 19 (SCS)  |  Form on SCS web site

Declaración Responsable del Control Sanitario COVID 19 (SCS) |   Formulario en sitio web SCS (pendiente)

Spain Travel Health websiteCHANGES TO THIS POLICY IN AUGUST 2022

• Change in the terms of the declaration of responsibility.