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FACE MASKS

Spain announces end of public transport face mask rule

Spain's Health Minister has announced that in the coming days masks will no longer be mandatory on planes, buses, trains, taxis and other means of public transport.

Spain announces end of public transport face mask rule
Masks no longer mandatory on public transport in Austria. So when will all restrictions be lifted? Photo: Gabriel BOUYS / AFP

Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias on Thursday confirmed that face masks would no longer be compulsory on public transport, a measure which has been in place in Spain for almost three years. 

“I will raise the proposal of eliminating the mandatory use of masks on public transport”, she said, adding that next week she will convene with the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System to “put this measure into effect”.  

Darias did not specify exactly when this would happen, although government agreements are usually approved the following day in the Official State Gazette (BOE), so the official end to the mask rule looks set to be on February 8th.

The minister did clarify however that masks would still be mandatory in health settings such as health centres and hospitals “as health experts advise”. 

Last week, Darias reported the possibility of eliminating the mandatory mask rule in pharmacies, but this is currently being “weighed up” by health experts.  

Manuel Franco, an expert in Public Health and a member of the Spanish Society of Public Health and Sanitary Administration (Sespas) explained that “the World Health Organisation (WHO) is already considering the decision to lift the public health emergency warning for Covid-19” and adds that “if this goes ahead, it would make no sense to maintain the mask rule”.  

The use of masks ceased to be mandatory outdoors almost a year ago, on February 10th, 2022.

Then, two months later on April 20th, the government announced they wouldn’t be required indoors either, except in health centres and on public transport. 

The latest bulletin of Sentinel Surveillance of Acute Respiratory Infection in Primary Care (ARIs) and in Hospitals (SARI), announced a drop in infections and hospitalisations and said that the rates for Covid-19 remain stable.

The decision to end the mask rule in February comes after health experts who advise the Spanish Ministry of Health said that masks should no longer be required on public transport

On Wednesday, January 25th the director of the Health Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Centre of the Ministry of Health (CCAES), Fernando Simón, assured that the end of the mask rule on transport would be announced “shortly” either “next week or the following”.  

Then, on Thursday morning, government spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, stated that the decision to remove the mask on public transport would be taken “immediately, when possible”, but pointed out that the government was looking at the situation in China first. 

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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.

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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