Alex Trelinski
SPAIN is waving farewell to the last remaining restriction imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic dating back to the spring of 2020.
Tuesday’s meeting of the Council of Ministers approved the abolition of mandatory mask wearing in areas like hospitals, health centres, and pharmacies.
The end of the restriction will come into force when it is published- probably on Wednesday- in the Official State Gazette.
Health Minister, Jose Miñones, has appealed to people to wear masks if they are around vulnerable people who have symptoms of infection, as well as in hospital ICUs.
The wearing of masks on public transport was abolished in February and the 17 regional health ministries that form the Interterritorial Council voted in favour on June 23 to end all remaining mask wearing rules.
Jose Miñones said: “Today we must send a message of remembrance, to the victims of this terrible pandemic and to those who lost their lives and their relatives.”
“We have a totally different situation with more than 90% of the population with a full dose of vaccination (105 million doses), and less than 1% of deaths and hospitalisations are down to Covid,” he added.
The Minister did point out that Covid has not gone away as it is currently responsible for 1,200 hospital admissions in Spain with under a hundred patients requiring intensive care.
READ MORE:
- Spain’s health minister floats idea of scrapping mask use in healthcare settings
- Mandatory mask wearing on public transport in Spain ends this Wednesday
