wearing a mask becomes compulsory again in hospitals

Wearing a mask will become compulsory again from Wednesday in hospitals and public health centers in Spain in the face of the outbreak of winter viruses, particularly influenza, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday January 8. Spain, a country traumatized by the first wave of the Covid pandemic in spring 2020, had been wondering about the measure for several days while the Spanish regions, which have control over health issues, disagreed. At the end of a meeting with representatives of the different Spanish regions on the “coordinated public health actions in the face of these epidemic peaks” winter, the measure was decreed.

Wearing a mask will not be compulsory in pharmacies, however, specifies the Ministry of Health. The Spanish government announced on Friday that it wanted a return to the national level of the mask. Facing the“notable increase in respiratory virus infections”, “we call” upon returning from “mask obligatory in sanitary and socio-sanitary areas” from the country, had declared on Health Minister Monica Garcia. The Valencia region and Catalonia had also already announced that they were making the wearing of masks compulsory for health professionals and patients in their hospitals and health centers.

This decision was taken while doctors have been sounding the alarm for several days regarding the increase in cases of flu, but also of Covid-19 or other respiratory viruses, particularly in the eastern regions of the country.