Spain: The obligatory use of a mask outdoors returns

The Spanish government today decided to make the use of the mask outdoors again mandatory, as the number of infections COVID-19 is increasing, approaching 50.000 in 24 hours, a record number.

"The use of the mask is once again mandatory outside," the Spanish government's Moncloa Palace said in a statement.

The text does not specify when the measure will be implemented, but an emergency cabinet meeting is convened tomorrow, Thursday, to approve this decree, so that the use of masks outdoors will apply at Christmas, where they are always held at important gatherings.

The announcement was made while the online emergency meeting between Prime Minister Pablo Sanchez and the presidents of the autonomous regions of the country is still underway, where measures are being discussed to stop the spread of the Delta variant.

Spain, one of the top countries in the world in vaccination, recorded on Tuesday, 49.823 new infections COVID-19 within 24 hours and the most contagious, Omicron variant is now 50% of new infections, according to the Ministry of Health.

The incidence of 14 days on Tuesday was 695 infections per 100.000 inhabitants, a number almost four times higher than on December 1. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the total number of infections has exceeded 5,5 million and the number of deaths is close to 89.000 in a country with almost 47 million inhabitants.

At present, this new wave (the sixth in Spain) remains less serious than the previous ones: 15% of intensive care units were occupied by Covid patients yesterday, compared to 30% in mid-January 2021, according to data from the Ministry of Health . In Spain, health remains the responsibility of the regions, but the use of a mask can be imposed directly by the executive by decree.

Another measure included in the decree that will be issued, is the duration of validity of the vaccine will be set from February 1 to nine months after the last dose. Spain is among the countries with the highest vaccination rate: 89,7% of citizens over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated. The country was also among the first in Europe to start vaccinating children aged 5-1 on December 15th.