The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has announce to the autonomies that he will approve a law on Thursday to make the facemask compulsory in open spaces throughout Spain.
Everyone will be required to wear them in all open spaces exactly six months after they ceased to be mandatory. Pedro Sánchez announced the measure at the Conference of Presidents.
Although there will be exceptions, such when playing sports, in principle the Cabinet intends to make the use of oral protection compulsory in virtually all circumstances, regardless of whether or not the 1.5 metres safety distance can be achieved.
The mask was no longer mandatory on 25 June, but now, a new decree, will return to the wording that was changed last summer, when measures were relaxed in accordance with the improving pandemic situation.
There will be some exceptions of course, “people who have some type of illness or respiratory problem”, disabled people who cannot use it or “in the case of individual sports being played in the open air”, plus “cases of force majeure or situations of need when, due to the very nature of the activities, the use of the mask is incompatible, in accordance with the directions issued by the health authorities ”.
By making the mask compulsory Sanchez is endorsing the demands of a large number of regional presidents including Castilla y León, Navarra, Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, the Valencian Community, Galicia, the Basque Country, the Canary Islands and Catalonia. All of them had insisted on the return of facial protection, which was only openly opposed by the Government of Madrid.
Beyond the imposition of the return of masks outdoors, Sánchez has ruled out any other restrictions that could have been ordered by decree and that several autonomies demanded, such as setting new capacities in the hotel industry, leisure and events; or establishing hourly limitations on commerce and hospitality.
All this will be introduced with the aim of giving a strong boost to immunity with a calendar that the Prime Minster states will see: 80% of the population between 60-69 years of age vaccinated with a third dose before the end of the year; 80% between 50-59 years old in the week of January 24; 80% between 40-49 years old in the first week of March; 70% of children with a first dose in the week of February 7; and 70% with the second dose in the week of April 19.
