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COVID-19 RULES

Spain’s Catalonia to lift Covid curfew on Friday

Catalonia will on Friday January 21st lift a Covid-19 curfew imposed just before Christmas, but other social distancing measures will remain in force in the northern Spanish region.

Published: 18 January 2022 18:03 CET
Since December 23rd, it has been illegal to be outside between the hours of 1 am and 6 am in Barcelona. Photo: Angel García/AFP
Since December 23rd, it has been illegal to be outside between the hours of 1 am and 6 am in Barcelona. Photo: Angel García/AFP

“Restrictions on night-time movements will remain in place until January 21st. After that date, it will be possible to move around the streets of Catalonia as normal,” regional government spokeswoman Patricia Plaja said.

“We haven’t hit peak (infections) yet but the trend shows the sixth wave is slowing down,” she added.

The Covid infection rate in Catalonia, a region of 7.7 million inhabitants which relies heavily on tourism, is higher than the national average.

The percentage of Covid patients in intensive care stands at 44 percent (577 patients), nearly twice the national average of 24 percent.

Since December 23rd, it has been illegal to be outside between the hours of 1 am and 6 am in the regional capital, Barcelona, and other towns of more than 10,000 inhabitants.

While that measure is now being lifted, other coronavirus restrictions in Catalonia will remain in force, including halving the number of people allowed into bars and restaurants, shuttering night clubs and banning private gatherings of more than 10 individuals.

The region continues to be stricter than the capital, Madrid, in requiring the public to show a Covid vaccination certificate to enter bars and restaurants.

Spain has witnessed a surge in infections since December and prevalence is currently among the highest in Europe.

The country has one of the continent’s highest vaccination rates and 90.5 percent of over-12s are double-jabbed.

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COVID-19 RULES

Covid-19: Spain to scrap face mask rule for hospitals and pharmacies

The Spanish Health Ministry has announced that masks will no longer be required in certain healthcare settings, including hospitals and pharmacies, with a couple of exceptions.

Published: 26 June 2023 09:55 CEST
Covid-19: Spain to scrap face mask rule for hospitals and pharmacies

The Ministry of Health, along with representatives of each autonomous community in Spain, decided at the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS) on Friday June 23rd that it would no longer be mandatory to wear masks in hospitals, pharmacies and other clinical settings.

Spain dropped the mask rule on public transport in February 2023, but since the very early days of the pandemic in 2020, they have been required in health centres, hospitals and clinics.

Where will masks no longer be mandatory?

You will no longer need to wear a mask when you visit these places:

  • Pharmacies
  • Physiotherapy clinics
  • Dental clinics
  • Health centres
  • Nursing/Care homes
  • Hospitals

Are there any places where masks are still required?

Yes. Spanish Health Minister José Miñones has confirmed that the use of masks will still be required in areas with vulnerable patients and some places where they were mandatory before the pandemic too. These include:  

  • Operating rooms
  • Intensive care units
  • Areas where there are immunocompromised patients
  • Cancer wards
  • Emergency rooms

When will it enter into force?

This measure was expected to be approved by the Spanish Cabinet on Tuesday, June 27th and enter into force the next day on Wednesday, after its publication in the Official State Bulletin (BOE). But on Monday Spain’s Health Minister said the date would have to be pushed back as the matter wouldn’t be addressed in the Spanish cabinet on Tuesday, adding that mask removal in hospitals and health centres will happen “as soon as possible”.

Masks first became mandatory in all indoor and outdoor spaces in Spain in May 2020 as the country emerged from a two-month national lockdown in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The outdoor mask rule was scrapped in February 2022 and in April 2022 it was the turn of the indoor mask rule, with the only exceptions being health centres, care homes and pharmacies.

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