“Following the progressivity measures and counting on the advice of experts, I have participated in the Interterritorial Council that we will bring a royal decree to the Council of Ministers on April 19 that they will no longer be mandatory indoors.”
This has been announced by the Minister of Health, Caroline Dariasthe suppression of the only measure in force against the coronavirus pandemic.
It will no longer be mandatory in closed spaces from April 20, just after the celebration of Easter.
The elimination of this measure, which will be approved by the Council of Ministers a day before, will, yes, have some exceptions.
Where will the mask continue to be mandatory indoors?
In socio-sanitary environments such as nursing homes or hospitals, as well as on public transport, face masks will continue to be essential.
“It will continue to be mandatory in those spaces in which we understand that there is greater vulnerability and people who need protection“, explained the head of Health.
But the reality is that the abolition of mandatory masks indoors becomes, after the elimination of isolation for COVID-19 patients, the last measure to fight the health crisis.
As the Government decided on March 28, Spain entered a new phase of pandemic management.
And now, in addition to counting only the cases of vulnerable people (over 60 years of age, with previous pathologies, immunosuppressed…), PCR and .
In case of contagion or suspicion, it is recommended to take extreme precautions by using a mask and other security measures, to prevent the spread of the virus.
Is it a premature measure?
The reality is that some experts believe that we are not yet in the ideal scenario to end masks indoors.
The doctor Jesus Molinaspokesman for the Spanish Society of Preventive Medicine, Public Health and Health Management, is clear about it.
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“I think it is still early because we still do not know the evolution of the virus. We are still in full decline of the sixth wave.”
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“It would be optimal with data below 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and, above all, as long as there is no clinical impact in terms of hospitalizations.”
According to the latest medical report, there have been 27,079 new cases, of which 11,063 have affected people over 60 years of age.
These latest figures bring the total number of infections in Spain, always according to official data, to 11,578,653 since the start of the pandemic. And as for the deceased, the latest data is 206.
Thus, the accumulated incidence in our country, which only counts the infections of people over 60 years of age, stands at 426.15 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In recent days there has been a decrease compared to the 459.27 reported last week.
Better recommended than mandatory
The doctor has different criteria Juan Martinez Hernandezspecialist in Preventive Medicine and Public Health, and author of various scientific publications such as .
Martínez also thinks that removing the masks now may be a bit “premature”, but adds that “sooner or later this obligation must be eliminated because it is a coercive measure.”
And hence I add:
“It should not be mandatory, but at this time it should still be recommended. The health authorities should remove the obligation because it undermines the individual freedom of people, but they should continue to be used on a voluntary and recommended basis.”
In addition, and to be more precise, Dr. Martínez bets that the face mask is “mandatory” in vulnerable spaces and public transport.
But “also at mass events, family gatherings, cinemas, theaters… Because the pandemic has not ended. The positivity rate in some health centers is still at 7-8%, and that means that the virus continues to circulate.”
And finally it concludes.
“It’s premature and that’s why the health authorities should recommend the use of the mask in some spacess more, because it is not understood that vulnerable people, for example, go to the theater and there are people without a mask ”, emphasizes Juan Martínez.