Masks will be 'voluntary' after Easter – and health professionals agree 'it's the right time'
Masks will be 'voluntary' after Easter – and health professionals agree 'it's the right time'
MASKS will no longer be compulsory in indoor areas anywhere in Spain from April 20, although many members of the public say they will keep wearing them.
Given that the incidence of Covid-19 has improved dramatically and medical workers report that those who catch it are very unlikely to need hospital treatment if they have been vaccinated, unless they have pre-existing physical conditions, Spain's government has opted to drop the requirement to use face coverings behind closed doors once Easter is over.
Some exceptions will apply – masks must still be worn on public transport, including in taxis, and also in any medical centres such as GP surgeries, hospitals, day-care or rehabilitation centres, nursing homes and other sheltered accommodation.
The requirement applies to the general public as well as those working in these areas.
Health minister Carolina Darías says these exceptions largely translate to places where 'vulnerable' people are most likely to be – the elderly, sick or both – but says they will no longer be necessary in schools.
Children have been able to go to class without their masks for some time now, but teachers will now be allowed to do likewise – although national health authorities still strongly recommend adults working in schools continue to use them.
As for other workplaces, such as offices or shops, the government will leave it up to companies' individual risk management teams to decide whether they want to keep compulsory mask-wearing in place.
Health professionals consulted agree with masks no longer being obligatory, but support the ministry's campaign to convince the public to continue wearing them as a voluntary measure.
They are 'strongly recommended' in certain indoor areas, and the government has appealed to the public to 'use their common sense'.
Times when Carolina Darías' ministry says people would be well advised to carry on wearing a mask include whenever they are in crowded places, indoors or out, such as busy shopping centres, street markets, supermarkets and other retail premises, museums, cinemas, theatres, concert halls, nightclubs and bars, or anywhere that serves food and drink except when actually taking mouthfuls.
What medical experts think
Epidemiologist Quique Bassat says: “I think it's the right decision.
“I think it's inconsistent to be talking for weeks about progressing towards normality whilst still making masks obligatory.
“Before now, the incidence of the virus was still too high to consider ceasing the requirement to wear a mask, but at present, we've reached a plateau. It's the right moment, and giving two weeks' notice, as the government has, is reasonable enough.”
Dr Bassat says there will still be cases of Covid contagion 'because we won't have any barriers' with the mask off, but 'our population is very well protected by the vaccines'.
“The current ratio between numbers of cases and numbers of patients in intensive care is extremely low – the best we've seen since the pandemic started, and we've seen evidence that the present strains of Covid are much less dangerous than earlier variants.”
Spanish Immunology Society spokeswoman Dr Carmen Martín Alonso says the 'high percentage of vaccinated people' means authorities and the public 'are able to be relaxed about the few restrictions still in place being withdrawn', but calls for 'personal responsibility' over what she calls a move from 'legal necessity' to 'moral necessity'.
“They're not banning masks. Anyone who knows they're infected should respect safety measures and carry on wearing masks indoors or in busy outdoor places,” Dr Martín Alonso stresses.
“It's neither too soon nor too late; it depends upon your level of personal responsibility...how far we've internalised all that's happened during the pandemic, how aware each of us is about what's healthy when it comes to respiratory virii, and whether or not there's an increase in contagion – or, more importantly, an increase in people being admitted to intensive care.”
Microbiologist and researcher from A Coruña University Hospital, Dr María del Mar Tomás, says: “They had to make that decision at some point.
“Masks will now become an element of personal responsibility in given situations, such as around vulnerable people.
“But, in fact, it's good that we're starting to be in contact with other types of virus. It helps us build up an immunity.
“It doesn't make sense that some countries have axed the mask and others still insist on it. Many of our neighbouring countries have dropped the mask, and there hasn't been a catastrophe as a result.”
These experts believe mask-wearing will be largely unnecessary in summer, when 'social interaction is mainly outdoors', and that for masks to become compulsory again in autumn, 'things would have to change a great deal from now'.
They predict autumn and winter will bring 'outbreaks', but not 'huge, powerful waves' of contagion like in the past, and that 'very local measures' might be necessary – though 'not national ones'.
