Brits heading on Spain holidays could end up facing Covid rules such as compulsory face masks, as the holiday hotspot considers putting measures back in place due to its rising coronavirus case numbers.
Popular locations including the Canary Islands and Costa del Sol have said they need to leave the possibility of mandatory face masks in indoor spaces on the table.
However, at the moment they are simply advising people to be cautious and wear a mask inside by choice.
So far, the Spanish government has ruled out the reintroduction of the indoor masks rule which was lifted in April for bars, shops and restaurants but not on public transport.
Head of the epidemiology section of the general directorate of public health of the Government of the Canary Islands, Amós García Rojas said he couldn't rule out demanding mask indoors again “to protect the vulnerable”.
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"The pandemic is not gone," he stressed. "It is necessary to continue maintaining certain restrictions and care, perhaps in the obligation to wear a mask indoors, if the situation does not improve."
Mr. Rojas sent a message of “calm” in the face of the increase in cases but warned people “not to fall into complacency” since “the virus is there”.
Given the current rise in infections, he said there were several factors involved, first of all a notable social relaxation, in addition to the holding of massive events and an increase in mobility that has also joined the relaxation of the established control measures in the face of the pandemic.
"To all this must be added the appearance of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, which have more transmissible characteristics, which cause many more infections, but fortunately they are also less virulent, most are mild or asymptomatic," he said.
He reiterated that the current scenario "is not as dramatic" as in other waves thanks to vaccines which have managed to "modulate the negative impact that the pandemic has had but urged everyone to get vaccinated. He urged anyone dealing with vulnerable people, the elderly and those with serious illnesses to wear masks.
Regarding the adoption of measures if infections continue to rise, he stated that "we will have to act accordingly."
And he warned: "The massive parties that are taking place in Tenerife and Gran Canaria will lead to more infections. If the situation is not redirected, measures will have to be taken."
On the Costa del Sol, the mayor of Malaga is backing the return to masks indoors to stop the "acceleration" of infections.
Francisco de la Torre warned: "Otherwise, we are going to have a summer with many health problems that will affect the well-being and lives of many."
He considered it "necessary" to go back to wearing masks indoors and keeping the windows open "always" in the face of the "acceleration" of coronavirus infections that have been taking place in recent days.
He relayed his message on his Twitter account where he asks that "we not relax" in order to stop the transmission of Covid-19, which has increased in the capital.
Spain's Minister of Health, Carolina Darias says people should consider wearing masks indoors again to maintain protection measures against Covid-19 given the increase in infections and hospital occupation.
She called for prudence and the use of protection measures, recalling that "in this time we have learned to keep the virus at bay", while highlighting that the increase in incidence is due to the new omicron sublineages that have appeared, BA.4 and BA.5.
"We know from other countries, such as Portugal, that we are facing omicron sublineages that are more transmissible but less serious in relation to previous stages," she warned.
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