Laurence Dollimore
ANYONE aged six and above in Andalucia must now wear a mask ‘at all times’, including on the beach and by the swimming pool – but what does that mean in practice?
Do you have to wear the protective gear at a bar or in a restaurant? What about at the gym?
Here we answer the most frequently asked questions as clearly as possible, according to statements from leaders and the decree in the Andalucia state gazette. See the list of exceptions here.
At the beach and swimming pool
Essentially, you will only have to wear your mask at the beach when you are on the move.
This means, for example, when you are taking a stroll along the beach, leaving your family unit to go to the bar, restaurant or chiringuito or going to the toilet.
You do not have to wear your mask when you go for a swim, that includes your walk from your bed to the sea and vice versa.
You do not have to wear a mask while sunbathing and with your family unit.
The rules surrounding the wearing of masks around the swimming pool are identical to that of the beach.
At a restaurant/bar
If you are seated at a restaurant as a family unit or with the people you live with you will not have to wear a mask.
And of course, you do not have to wear the protective gear while eating and/or drinking.
If you are sitting with friends who you do not live with, the Junta recommends you wear a mask, but will not force you to.
Malaga health minister Carlos Bautista told Cadena SER it would be best to remove the mask strictly when eating or drinking, adding that it was a matter of ‘individual responsibility.’
When you leave your table to walk around the terrace or go to the toilet, for example, you will have to wear the mask.
Playing sports
You will not have to wear your mask while exercising, including jogging or running on the street.
However you must wear one before and after. It is advisable to carry your mask with you.
At the gym
The decree published in the regional state bulletin says the mask can be removed when its use is ‘not compatible’ with exercise.
However it also says the face covering must be worn in common areas.
This leaves gym goers in a bit of a pickle as the law is left open to interpretation, with some exercises in the gym less arduous than others and with most of the space inside gyms being common areas.
It means gym users will have to use common sense. Most likely, while exercising you will not have to wear the mask but while walking around the gym you will have to place it back on.
At work
The use of the mask is 100% mandatory in the workplace.
Junta spokesman Elias Bendodo said to imagine the accessory as a new part of your everyday outfit.
“We have to wear it all day at all times,” he said.
Public transport
You must don a mask on any form of public transport, be it by air, sea, bus or train.
This includes vehicles of up to nine seats, including the driver.
In the car
The mask must be worn in private vehicles only if the passengers and/or driver are not from the same family unit or do not live together.
