Spanish Government Calls for Mask Mandate in Hospitals and Health Centers Amid Surge in Winter Viruses

2024-01-06 09:05:00

IN THE MORNING January 6, 2024 At 10:05

This decision was taken while the doctors have been sounding the alarm for several days regarding the increase in cases of flubut also Covid-19 or others respiratory virusesparticularly in the eastern regions of the country.

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To deal with this situation, the Spanish government called on Friday for the temporary return of masque in the hospitals and the health centers of the country in the face of the surge in winter virusesand in particular the flu, observed in recent days in Spain.

Faced with the “notable increase in infections by respiratory viruses, we call for the return of compulsory masks in sanitary and socio-sanitary spaces” in the country, the Minister of Health wrote on Monica Garcia.

The minister, who mentioned public “hospitals” and “health centers”, where a large part of the consultations are carried out, indicated that she would address this subject during a meeting on Monday with representatives of the different Spanish regions, who have control over health issues.

This meeting will allow “to take coordinated public health actions in the face of these epidemic peaks” winter weather, she added, ensuring that the regions had “the competence” and therefore “the responsibility to implement appropriate measures” in the face of this situation.

During the pandemic of Covid, the obligation to wear a mask has been very widely respected in Spain, a country traumatized by the first wave of the pandemic in spring 2020, during which a confinement among the strictest in the world had been put in place.

The wearing a mask is compulsory was thus only lifted in July 2023 in places likely to accommodate people at risk, such as hospitals, retirement homes or even the pharmacies.

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