People will be allowed to wander around downtown Gibraltar without wearing a mask from Sunday as most of the adult population in the British territory on Spain's southern tip has been vaccinated against COVID-19, the government said.
As the number of new infections plummeted, with none reported on Wednesday among the 33,000-strong population, authorities also lifted a nighttime curfew from Thursday evening, allowing bars and restaurants to stay open until 2 am.
"As a result of the vaccination programme success and our community following the rules, the number of positive cases now is extremely low," Samantha Sacramento, Gibraltar's minister for civil contingencies, said in a statement.
There are no active cases in Gibraltar's hospital nor in the enclave's residential services for the elderly, the statement said.
The wearing of masks, which have become ubiquitous around the world, will no longer be required outside in the city's arterial Main Street and the surroundings, although their use remains compulsory on public transport and in shops.
According to website Our World in Data, Gibraltar is one of the territories in the world with the highest level of vaccine doses being administered per 100 people, with more than 160.
Gibraltar was severely hit by the virus last year. With 94 fatalities, it had the world's highest death toll relative to its population, according to data tracking site Worldometer.