Wearing masks on public transport in Spain to go next week or the week after

Fernando Simón, the Director of the Centre for the Coordination of Alerts and Health Emergencies (CCAES), has said that the requirement to wear masks on public transport could go as early as next week or the week after.

According to news site La Vanguardia, Simón said on Wednesday, January 25 that the Council of Ministers could approve the end of the compulsory use of masks on public transport at its meeting on January 31 or February 7.

The measure is one of the last remaining restrictions that Spanish authorities put into place during the pandemic. Whilst many people would like to see the use of masks go, many epidemiologists continue to defend the use of masks while the virus is still in circulation.

Simón told journalists in Zaragoza, where he is participating in a round table discussion “Truth and Lies, the binary code of democracy”, that: “The decision is not mine alone and the proposals come from the technicians, the experts and the autonomous communities.”

Previously Simón has said that plans were afoot to remove the measure in March but that based on an improving epidemiological situation the date would be brought forward. The final decision has, however, been delayed by the reopening of Chinese borders and the continued high infection and death rates in that country.

Research conducted by Spanish authorities who have been randomly testing arrivals from China is that the return of visitors from this part of the world has not impacted on the local situation.

Wearing masks on public transport has been a contentious issue with many locals and certainly with visitors to Spain, so the news that it could go either next week or the week after will be welcomed by many.

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