Farewell masks

SPAIN has said goodbye to the last remaining Covid-19 pandemic restriction dating back to spring 2020.

Last week’s meeting of the Council of Ministers abolished mandatory mask wearing in areas like hospitals, health centres, and pharmacies. 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. Health Minister, Jose Miñones, said: “We have a totally different situation compared to 2020 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 nevertheless appealed for mask wearing to continue when close to vulnerable people who have symptoms of infection, as well as in hospital ICUs.