29th March 2024
Passengers wearing face masks on a tram in Barcelona
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Face mask rules in Spain to be further eased immediately after Easter

Latest: Coronavirus in Spain weekly figures (8 April)

Report updated on 7 April at 11h.

Spain’s Health Ministry is to further ease the country’s remaining face mask rules immediately after Easter. 

Face masks are currently still compulsory in Spain in all indoor public spaces, including shops, and on public transport. 

The changes in the mandatory use of face masks indoors will be approved at a cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday 19 April, and is likely to come into force the following day, on Thursday 20 April, after it is published in Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE).

Health Minister Carolina Darias proposed this date to the regional health authorities during the meeting of the Inter-territorial Health Council held on Wednesday in Toledo.

The government is still evaluating maintaining the use of face masks beyond 20 April on all public transport, as well as at hospitals, health centres and care homes. But in shops, bars, restaurants, hotels, indoor cultural venues and schools it is understood that face masks will no longer be compulsory. 

Madrid and Catalonia had been requesting that face mask rules should be relaxed before the Easter break, whilst other regions, such as Andalusia and Extremadura, believe that the proposed date after Easter it is still too soon.

In June 2020, Spain first made the wearing of face masks compulsory indoors and outdoors, for everyone aged over six if ‘social distancing’ could not be maintained. At the time, the former health minister Salvador Illa had said that the compulsory use of face masks would remain in place ‘until a vaccine is found’.

In May 2021, Spain’s Inter-Territorial Council of the National Health System published a new agreement on the mandatory use of face masks, allowing for some exemptions whilst on the beach or at swimming pools.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that face masks would no longer be required outdoors in Spain from 26 June 2021, except if a safe distance of 1.5m could not be maintained with people outside your closest social bubble. The rules for wearing face masks outside again were then reinforced from 24 December 2021.

Then from mid-February this year, wearing face masks outside became no longer compulsory in Spain.

Spain Travel Health Form

From Wednesday 6 April, the Spanish government has also lifted the obligation to fill out the Spain Travel Health form (SPTH) for travellers who have an EU vaccination certificate or equivalent that shows you are fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid. The obligation to fill out the form and show the QR code at the border remains in force for all other visitors. Click here for the SPTH page, which states:

In order to enter Spain, all passengers, regardless of the country of origin (except children under the age of 12 and passengers in international transit), must show one of these documents:

  • An EU DIGITAL COVID CERTIFICATE OR EU EQUIVALENT of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative certificate of an active infection diagnostic test or a recovery certificate after having this disease.
  • SpTH QR. If you do not have the EU Digital Covid Certificate or equivalent, you must complete the SpTH Health Control Form, manually entering the details of your vaccination, recovery or diagnostic test certificate.

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2 comments

Linda Patton 11th April 2022 at 10:21 am

Do I still have produce a COVID passport when leaving Spain to go to the UK from Alicante Airport in May 2022
Thank you

Reply
Linda Patton 11th April 2022 at 10:34 am

After the 20th of April will you still have to wear masks in Banks?
thank you

Reply

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