From Saturday (February 3), the wearing of face masks in health centres and hospitals in Mallorca and the rest of the Balearics will cease to be obligatory.
The incidence of respiratory infections has fallen for two weeks in a row. When the Spanish health ministry issued the instruction that made mask-wearing obligatory (this was on January 10), it was stated that this could be downgraded to recommendation when there were two consecutive weeks of decreased incidence.
Regional authorities can, if they wish, maintain the obligation even where there has been a fall, but they are choosing not to. The Balearic health minister, Manuela García, said on Thursday that there will be a meeting of the regional infectious diseases committee on Friday, at which she anticipates that the decision to adopt recommendation rather than obligation will be ratified.
García added that the recommendation also applies to enclosed and crowded places. She pointed out that there is still an epidemic, the latest incidence of acute respiratory infection being 231 for 100,000 inhabitants, down from 242 a week ago. For flu specifically, this has fallen from 100 per 100,000 to 60.