Starting on Wednesday 10 January, the compulsory use of face masks in all hospitals and healthcare centres throughout Spain is being reinstated – not just in some regions as previously proposed. The decision, communicated by the Health Ministry on Monday, has been prompted by a surge in flu cases nationwide.
The new directive stems from discussions between the ministry and representatives from Spain’s regional healthcare departments. Although the initial plan proposed that the regional health authorities would independently decide on reintroducing face mask mandates, a consensus was reached to uniformly enforce the measure across all 17 autonomous communities.
Spain, having endured a severe impact during the initial wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, had been considering the move for several days but a final decision was held up by disagreements among its regions.
Reflecting on the lessons learned since the onset of the pandemic, Spanish Health Minister Mónica García stressed the importance of masks ‘to protect above all health centres and hospitals, to protect patients as much as [healthcare] professionals’.
The wearing of masks is ‘a measure that is effective, common sense, that is backed by scientific evidence and that is welcomed by the general population’, she said.
García had already expressed her support for reinstating mandatory masks in healthcare facilities in a statement on Friday. The regions of Valencia and Catalonia had also independently announced their intention to require masks for healthcare workers and patients.
Concerns about an uptick in flu cases, along with Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses, have been raised by doctors in Spain for several days. During the pandemic, face mask mandates were rigorously adhered to in the country, which had some of the world’s strictest lockdown measures in place.
Spain only lifted the obligatory wearing of masks in high-risk facilities such as hospitals, retirement homes and pharmacies in July 2023. Notably, the upcoming mandate will exclude pharmacies, as clarified by the health ministry. ALSO READ: Spain calls an end to obligatory use of face masks in hospitals, pharmacies.
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