Cristina Hodgson
ANDALUCIAN health experts firmly support maintaining mandatory use of face masks on public transport and inside health care centres, health councilor says.
Following a Governing Council meeting this Tuesday, October 4, the Regional Minister of Health, Catalina Garcia, has said that the regional Ministry of Health continues to ‘recommend’ the mask.
To remove the masks on public transport and in health centers, now that autumn has begun, when viruses circulate more in closed places, would, according to Garcia, be a ‘mistake.’
Garica echoed words that were said several weeks ago by the Junta’s coronavirus monitoring group, Dr Inmaculada Salcedo, who also suggested that it was still too early to remove face masks in some enclosed spaces where the safety distance is not guaranteed.
Salcedo went a step further to suggest that ‘certain measures must be maintained forever.’
The Spanish Ministry of Health, together with the autonomous communities will meet this Friday, October 7, to study the withdrawal of face masks on public transport and inside health care centres.
Some regional governments are in favour, and will defend it in the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System.
Meanwhile, Garcia has also encouraged citizens who did not receive the first booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to take advantage of the current campaign that has just begun in Andalucia and make a free vaccination appointment.
The Minister stressed that vaccination has been shown to be the ‘most important preventive measure’ against Covid-19, and ‘the most effective tool for prevention’, concluding that mask use was also one of the ‘best protection tools’.
READ MORE:
- Transport sector calls on government to finally scrap masks on Spain’s trains, buses and taxis
- Spain’s Andalucia considers maintaining mandatory use of face masks on public transport and inside health care centres ‘forever’
