Cristina Hodgson
SPAIN will be one of the last European countries to eliminate the mandatory outdoor face mask rule.
On Tuesday night, February 1, the Spanish Parliament voted in favour of keeping the mandatory requirement of wearing masks in outdoor public spaces– which was reintroduced on Christmas Eve 2021 as Omicron cases spiked.
Spain joins Italy in being among the bloc’s most important member states in maintaining this measure.
Italy, however, has already set an expiry date of February 10, while in Spain, the Ministry of Health continues to delay its decision despite the steady decline in the cumulative incidence since January 24.
In the last few days, Germany, France and the UK have lifted this restriction and joined the rest of the European countries, which had done so previously.
In fact, Denmark and Norway, which will be joined next week by Sweden, have already announced that they are preparing to enter the new normal without any limitations.
In Spain, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, insisted this Thursday that the mask will cease to be compulsory ‘soon’, although without specifying the deadline.
Spain has now officially reached 10 million COVID-19 infections since the pandemic started two years ago. Half of which have been recorded during Spain’s current sixth coronavirus wave.
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