Official: face masks obligatory from Thursday on Spain’s Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca and throughout the country

JUSTIFICATION: “The widespread use of face masks has been shown to be a very effective barrier against the transmission of Covid-19 when it is not possible to maintain a safe distance”, the Health Minister tweeted CREDIT: Ayuntamiento de Adra

ITS official. Wearing a face mask will be obligatory in Spain from Thursday onwards.

The regulation will apply to “persons from six years and above in the public street, in open-air spaces and in any enclosed area for public use or which is open to the public, always when it is not possible to maintain an interpersonal safety distance of at least two metres,” according to today’s Official State Bulletin.

It also states that face masks are recommended for children aged between three and five.

People who suffer from respiratory problems “which could be aggravated by face mask use,” and anyone for whom use is “not recommended for reasons of health or disability,” are exempt.

This refers to conditions like asthma, allergies, anxiety, autism and dementia, among others.

It further clarifies, logically, that the obligation will not apply while people are doing something which by its very nature is “incompatible” with wearing a mask, like eating and drinking, or in “a situation of need.”

As to what kind of masks people will have to wear, the government leaves it quite general, stating that it can be “any kind,” but “preferably hygienic and surgical, which covers the nose and mouth.”

“The widespread use of face masks has been shown to be a very effective barrier against the transmission of Covid-19 when it is not possible to maintain a safe distance,” tweeted Health Minister Salvador Illa earlier today in justification of the order.

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Cathy Elelman

Cathy Elelman is the local writer for the Costa de Almeria edition of the Euro Weekly News.

Based in Mojacar for the last 21 years, Cathy is very much part of the local community and is always well and truly up on all the latest news and events going on in this region of Spain.

Her top goals are to do the best job she can informing the local English-speaking community, visitors to the area and the wider world about about the news in Almeria, to learn something new every day, and to embrace very new challenge this fast-changing world brings her way.

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