Spain could end mandatory face masks on public transport 'soon'

The Minister of Health for Spain, Carolina Darias, said yesterday (Monday) that the decision to stop the mandatory use of face masks on public transport could be made “soon” when the epidemiological situation and health experts "advise it."

In a radio interview she was asked how long masks will continue to be required on public transport, and replied: "We hope that if the coronavirus situation continues like this we can make a decision soon but, as always, we will follow the advice of the experts.”

However, she acknowledged that the epidemiological situation in Spain is "very stable" and highlighted the important role that vaccination against Covid has played, and still plays now. For this reason, she has again requested that the general population be vaccinated with the second booster dose to continue protecting and saving lives.

Finally, and regarding the rebound of coronavirus infections in China, Darias reported that, so far, only two positive cases have been detected on all the flights that have arrived in Spain from China and, once sequenced, it has been seen that they are known variants.

“We continue with a planned roadmap in which the Government has acted with foresight and coordination, both with the European Union communicating all the measures and with the regions in Spain,” she reiterated.