Spain will end its mandate to wear masks outdoors next week, Health Minister Carolina Darias said, reversing an order issued in late December against an unprecedented wave of coronavirus infections fueled by a highly contagious boom.
After confirming that infection levels have peaked, Spain’s cabinet will end the mandate next Tuesday, and the government expects to adopt the changes from Thursday, February 10, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Wearing a mask will remain mandatory in indoor public places, including public transport, and outdoors when citizens cannot maintain a safe distance of 1.5 meters between them.
The outside mandate, adopted on December 22 as many were preparing to reunite loved ones at Christmas, was the government’s main response to Omicron’s spread.
Some experts criticized the decision as a cosmetic step that had little effect in stopping the infection.
Official Health Ministry data show how the spread of the virus accelerated in November and peaked on January 21 at 3,418 new infections per 100,000 residents in two weeks, an epidemic record. Infections have since slowed and the 14-day figure fell by 1,000 infections per 100,000 residents on Thursday, to 2,420.
Authorities attribute the robust vaccination rate of nearly 81% of a population of 47 million to a lower admission rate of people with COVID-19 to hospitals than previous infections.
Spain has officially recorded just over 94,000 deaths linked to COVID-19.
AOQ