Masks will remain compulsory on public transport in Spain indefinitely

The Minister of Health for Spain, Carolina Darias, confirmed yesterday (Friday) that there are no plans to lift the mask rule on public transport and it will remain in place until experts say otherwise, following their advice as they have done throughout the pandemic.

Answering a question in parliament from Ciudadanos MP, Guillermo Díaz, she pointed out that all the measures taken during the pandemic have been approved by experts who have advised and are continuing to advise the Ministry of Health and the regional health authorities, including the Canary Islands.

She explained that the reason that masks still have to be worn on public transport is that a lot of people crowd into a small space without adequate ventilation, thereby increasing the risk, which is the difference to planes as their ventilation replaces cabin air every few minutes.

Guillermo Díaz said that it was his party that had “convinced” the government to lift the mask rule in the street and inside buildings and that in other countries such as Portugal, France, Belgium, Denmark, and the UK, among others, masks no longer have to be worn on public transport and “nothing has happened”.

He also said that imposing an unnecessary measure caused more damage than it prevented because most people who catch Covid-19 are not very ill with it, but Carolina Darias stood firm and insisted that the government will continue to follow the advice of health experts and that Spain recently received recognition from the World Health Organisation for its handling of the pandemic.