The Spanish tourism industry is facing a 'very, very bad hit' after the UK decided to reimpose travel restrictions for those arriving from Spain.
Miguel Anxo Murado, writer and journalist based in Madrid, says health authorities in the country insist the country is not in a second wave yet - but that they "don't sound very optimistic" about the coming weeks.
Spanish authorities have stated they have the situation under control, with regional restrictions and lockdowns in place.
However, the British government dealt a significant blow to the Spanish tourism industry's summer season when they suddenly announced over the weekend anyone arriving into the UK from Spain will have to quarantine for 14 days.
Boris Johnson's government had previously allowed for an 'air bridge' between the UK and Spain.
The new rules apply to those who were already in Spain when the announcement was made.
Mr Murado told The Hard Shoulder that there have been around 14,000 cases of COVID-19 in the Catalonia region in the past two weeks.
He explained: "The health authorities here in Spain say we are not already in the second wave of infections... but in the way they phrase it you can understand we are very close to it.
"They don't sound very optimistic about the coming couple of weeks."
"I think it's worth noting that it isn't Barcelona that's in lockdown... it's an agricultural area [that is], and it's not a place that most people who are familiar with tourism in Catalonia would be going to."
Mr Murado said the coronavirus outbreak has had a huge economic impact, with the new British restrictions also already having a hit.
He explained: "The tourism industry in Spain is 15% of our GDP... British tourists in particular are the most important source of income. The tourism industry was hoping they could at least save 50% of their regular income... but that was four weeks ago, when there were hopes the situation had stablisied.
"Now after what is happening, especially the decision from Britain, they guess they will lose 70% of their normal revenue... a very, very bad hit.
He noted that Spain already has a "structural problem" with unemployment, and that this is going to add to it.
He suggested: "It's going to be I would say tragic when we come back from the summer. It's going to be really tragic."
