Brits heading for Spain are being reminded that new face mask rules imposed by half a dozen holiday hotspots now apply to the ENTIRE country.
The Ministry of Health today made it compulsory for ALL parts of Spain to impose face mask requirements for those visiting hospitals, doctor’s surgeries, medical centres and chemists.
The new rule comes into effect immediately (from January 10) and does not need to be formally approved in the usual way. Urgent letters have been sent out to all the autonomous communities and they are expected to comply, despite opposition in some areas where politicians feel the wearing of face masks again is not necessary and is only causing alarm.
Six areas of Spain – Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Murcia, Aragon, Asturias and the Canary Islands – had already imposed the measure themselves without State direction to try and protect the public from coronavirus and flu.
Galicia, Cantabria, Navarra, Asturias, La Rioja and Euskadi, had limited themselves to requesting the use of masks in health centres and residences only as a recommendation and six more, Madrid, Andalucia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Extremadura and Castilla y Leon, were only prepared to advise the use of face masks for people who have symptoms of respiratory infections.
The Spanish government says the rule must now be followed by everyone, regardless of where they live “to protect citizens”.
Minister of Health Monica Garcia said said the incidence of flu in recent days “is a cause for concern” as “we are at much higher levels of influenza than in recent years”. She also stated that the problem is not so much the infections as the potential collapse of the public health system.
Experts expect that the epidemic of new flu cases will continue to escalate at least until the third or fourth week of January.
In some Spanish regions there are already calls for masks to be made compulsory again on public transport though at this time, this only remains a matter of choice.
