Decision To Remove Compulsory Wearing Of Masks On Public Transport Is Close Says Health Minister
Spain News
Published: 16 January 2023 16:21 CET
Spain’s Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, is confident that “not too long from now” a decision will be made to remove the compulsory wearing of face masks on public transport.
When asked how long masks will be used on public transport, during an interview on Cadena Ser, the minister said "We hope that if the situation continues like this we can make a decision not too long from now, but, as always, we will go hand in hand with the experts.” So, when the “epidemiological situation and the experts advise it” the ruling will be removed.
Darias recognised that the current epidemiological situation in Spain is “very stable” and emphasised the major role the vaccination campaign has played in keeping the Coronavirus under control. She emphasised the importance for the Spanish population to get vaccinated against the virus, including having the booster dose, in order to keep protecting and “saving lives”.
In regards to China experiencing a rebound of the virus, the Health Minister reported that only two positive cases have been detected in all incoming flights to Spain, from China so far. She said they have both proved to be known variants of the virus.
The Minister concluded that "We continue with a planned roadmap in which the Government has acted in advance and with coordination, both with the European Union communicating all the measures and with the autonomous communities. If we have learned anything, it is that we need to act with these two vectors: coordination and anticipation.”
On April 20, 2022, the BOE stipulated that the obligation to wear a face mask “remains in air, rail or cable transport, in public passenger transport and in the closed spaces of ships and boats, when the safety distance cannot be maintained. However, it has been considered that this obligation to use the mask should not be maintained for platforms and passenger stations".
This standard defends that "in means of transport, a large population is concentrated in small spaces, with little interpersonal distance, sometimes for long periods of time.”
Source
https://www.majorcadailybulletin.com/news/local/2023/01/16/109577/masks-public-transport-spain.html
https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2023/01/16/darias-sobre-retirar-la-mascarilla-en-los-transportes-no-sera-muy-tarde-cadena-ser/
Image Credit: La Moncloa Flickr
