The Spanish government approves the end of mandatory use of face masks in healthcare centers, pharmacies and residences.
The rule takes effect upon publication in the Official State Gazette, on Thursday of the final week of January 2024.
The Council of Ministers has decided to end mandates of face masks in pharmacies, healthcare centers, and residences on Tuesday, sources confirm. Exceptions include specific areas in hospitals with critical or immunocompromised patients, operating rooms, and ICUs. Masks, the last remnants of COVID restrictions, become voluntary once published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), likely on Wednesday or Thursday. Recommendations persist in spaces with vulnerable individuals.
Following the recommendation of the National Health System Interterritorial Council, the government aligns with the majority vote on June 23 to end mandates in mentioned areas. Various autonomous communities, including Madrid, had advocated for this change, consistent with many neighboring countries.
To support this decision, the Health Emergency Coordination Center certifies “the end of the health emergency,” as stated by Health Minister José Manuel Miñones. The World Health Organization had already declared this internationally on May 5. The latest data, as of Friday, shows the lowest COVID statistics since the crisis began: 1,297 hospitalized and 86 in intensive care.
The mask mandate, increasingly questioned as COVID ceased to be a public health crisis, faces criticism. Experts from prestigious U.S. universities argued in April for its end in healthcare settings, stating the time for universal mask use had passed. With limited immunity, masks were crucial initially, but circumstances had changed.
Despite restrictions, mask compliance in specific areas was decreasing. Pharmacists reported lax adherence, and some customers entered without masks. This likely marks the final step back from mandatory masks, after more than three years of regulation. The previous one occurred this year when masks ceased to be mandatory in public transportation in February, almost a year since indoor mask requirements were lifted for Spaniards.
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