Spanish national and regional health authorities will be meeting next week to finalise plans for an end to the compulsory use of face masks on public transport.
Currently passengers are required to wear masks on flights in Spain, even if some international airlines have applied relaxed interpretations of the rule. The requirement to wear masks in indoor areas including airport terminals was lifted last April.
Spanish health minister Carolina Darias announced last week that, on 7 February, she will submit to the national cabinet a proposal to remove the obligation to wear masks on public transport, taking into account the “current situation of COVID-19 epidemiological stability” and reports by experts and scientific institutions.
The mandatory use of face masks will still remain in place in hospitals, clinics and other health care establishments, including pharmacies, for both staff and visitors.
Before the cabinet meeting, Darias said she would convene the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS) to coordinate the measure with regional governments and cities, after studying latest reports from the Public Health Commission’s “alerts and preparedness and response plans committee”.
She stressed that all decisions adopted throughout the various phases of the pandemic had been agreed by the CISNS, and she thanked all the official administrations, experts and scientific institutions, health professionals and the public for their efforts and hard work.