The Spanish Council of Ministers formalised today the decision to remove the requirement for the mandatory use of face masks on public transport, including airplanes.
Spain was the only country in the European Union (and one of the few in the West) in which this measure, which already lacked solid arguments almost three years after the outbreak of the pandemic, was still in force.
At the press conference following the Council, which was attended by the government spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, and the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, they stressed the importance of this new step towards the normalization of activities.
Darias said that this decision was taken with “the favorable opinion of the experts”, given that “we are at a time of enormous stability in terms of the epidemiological situation due to COVID-19 and with a clear downward trend”.
Nevertheless, she recommended “a responsible use of masks especially in those who present symptoms compatible with an acute respiratory infection” and “in enclosed spaces, mass events or in the family environment when a person presents a vulnerability”.
“This is one more step in the response that we have been giving at all times in accordance with the epidemiological situation at all times and always with the opinion of experts. It is true, it is one more step, but it is a particularly important one because the end of masks on public transport means continuing to comply with the roadmap planned phase by phase to return to normality in practice,” concluded the Minister of Health.
