As of Wednesday (January 10), all the regions of Spain must make the wearing of face masks in health centres and hospitals obligatory. Some regions had already adopted this measure. Others, including the Balearics, had not.
At a press conference to explain measures to tackle the impact of the increase in cases of flu and other respiratory infections, Spain's health minister, Mónica García, explained that this obligation can be downgraded to a recommendation that masks are worn, when regions record two consecutive weeks of decrease in the cumulative incidence of cases of respiratory viruses.
She added that if regions wish to maintain the obligation, despite meeting this requirement, they will be able to do so.
These provisions, she said, will last while a 'declaration of coordinated actions' is in force. The minister was unable to state how long these coordinated actions will last.
In the Balearics, where the incidence of respiratory virus cases is the lowest in the country, the health minister, Manuela García, has described the mandating of mask-wearing by the Spanish government as an "imposition".