Spain to end mandatory use of masks on public transport

Madrid: The mandatory use of facemasks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport in Spain will end on February 8, Minister for Health Carolina Darias said.

However, facemasks will remain obligatory in hospitals, health centres and pharmacies, Xinhua news agency quoted the Minister as saying.

"We have a very stable situation from an epidemiological point of view," Darias told the media. It is the latest move towards a return to normal life in Spain after the pandemic.

The obligatory use of facemasks in most indoor settings ended on April 20, 2022. According to data published by the Spanish Health Ministry on January 20, the 14-day index of COVID-19 cases in over 60s in Spain is 97.60 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, continuing the trend of a gradual reduction in infection rates.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, Spain has registered a total of 13,722,677 COVID-19 cases and 118,183 deaths.