Spain to revoke outdoor mask mandate

Madrid, Feb 5 The Spanish government will revoke the outdoor facemask wearing mandate from next week onwards, Health Minister Carolina Darias said.

A proposal for that will be approved in a cabinet meeting on February 8, the Minister told local radio station Cadena Ser, adding the measure will be published in the official State Gazette the following day and come into effect on February 10, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Spanish government previously lifted the mandate for wearing facemasks outdoors in June 2021, but reintroduced it on December 23 as Covid-19 cases soared in the country due to the Omicron variant surge.

Spain saw the 14-day incidence of the virus climb to over 3,400 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in January, but according to the Health Ministry data published on Friday, that incidence has dropped to 2,299.44.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 patients now occupy 19.96 percent of intensive care beds in Spain, falling below 20 per cent for the first time in a month.

Darias said that all of the epidemiological indicators pointed to a fall in the number of infections, and some communities in the country were calling for lifting the obligation to wear masks outdoors.