It’s official. The Government of Spain has approved the elimination of the mandatory use of a mask indoors almost 700 days after its imposition. The Council of Ministers has given the green light to the measure this Tuesday, which will enter into force on Wednesday, April 20 with some exceptions: You will have to wear a face mask in public transport, taxis and VTC, health centers, residences and pharmacies. From now on the mask will be an individual option.
In the absence of its publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE), the Ministry of Health recommends the use of a mask for people vulnerable to COVID-19, that is, older than 60 years, the immunosuppressed and pregnant women. With all this, there are some places not contemplated by the Government in which the mandatory use of a mask may be maintained.
Although the use of the face mask becomes optional in stores, supermarkets, shopping centers, cinemas, bars and theaters, among others, businessmen can continue to ask for the mask in their shops if this is reflected in the right of admission. The same will happen with workplaces: the occupational risk prevention department of each company will decide whether to continue wearing a mask or not in its facilities. The technicians of the Alert Report of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System recommend its use if a distance of 1.5 meters cannot be maintained with colleagues.
Spain joins most EU countries without masks
After the approval of the royal decree, the Minister for Territorial Policy and spokesperson for the Executive, Isabel Rodríguez, celebrated the measure, which “has been possible thanks to joint work and a collegiate effort in which the vaccination strategy has had a lot to do with it“. “It is a very special day for the Government and all Spaniards in the fight against the virus. We are moving forward as normal. Tomorrow we will be able to get rid of the masks indoors and show our faces and our smiles,” he applauded.
Spain thus joins the majority of countries in the European Union that have already eliminated the mask indoors. Portugal and Italy still maintain the measure. The decision has been possible because the situation of the pandemic allows it: to the “very high vaccination coverage” of 92% in those over 12 years of age, there are some downward indicators and a decrease in the severity of the disease, he explained in a conference of press the minister of Health Carolina Darias.
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