ARCHIVED - Spain finally waves goodbye to face masks on April 20

Masks will no longer be required in most indoor venues in Spain

After more than 700 days in operation, Spain finally bids adiós to facemasks on Wednesday April 20. From now on, masks will no longer be mandatory in most indoor settings, with a few notable exceptions, and we can now “show our faces and our smiles again,” according to government spokesperson Isabel Rodriquez.

These are the indoor face covering rules in Spain:

• Masks will not be compulsory in any bars, restaurants, cafés, gyms, cinemas, theatres, sports stadiums, concerts, shops or shopping centres, nor will children be required to wear them at school.
• The Ministry of Health has confirmed that, as a “general rule,” face masks will no longer be mandatory in work places and offices, but that it will ultimately be up to the management to decide if they wish to keep them in place. This has been recommended for areas with poor ventilation or in spaces where an adequate safety distance can’t be maintained.
• Masks will remain compulsory on all public transport, including buses, trains, coaches, planes and trams. They will also be required in taxis, even when there is only one driver and passenger. However, passengers will not have to wear facemasks in airports in Spain, or while waiting in bus or train stations.
• On ferries, masks must be worn indoors when “the distance of 1.5 metres cannot be maintained”.
• People will still have to wear a mask when visiting hospitals, pharmacies, health centres, physiotherapy centres and dentists. Patients in hospitals will not have to wear masks when in their own rooms but they will be needed in shared spaces.
• Those working in or visiting nursing homes will need to wear a mask at all times. Residents will not be required to wear masks.

As has always been the case in Spain, people who have any type of illness or respiratory difficulty that may be aggravated by the use of a mask will not be subject to the above obligations.

On the other hand, the Ministry recommends that people with greater vulnerability to coronavirus infection continue to wear masks indoors if they are going to be in prolonged contact with others at a distance of less than 1.5 metres.

In addition, people who have tested positive for Covid must wear a mask “for 10 days from the diagnosis,” according to the Minister.

✔️ Se mantiene la obligatoriedad de las #mascarillas en el transporte aéreo, por ferrocarril o por cable y en los autobuses, así como en los transportes públicos de viajeros.

✔️ No será obligatorio llevar mascarilla en estaciones o andenes. pic.twitter.com/rzYtTKasNo

— Ministerio de Sanidad (@sanidadgob) April 19, 2022

See also: How to get a Covid passport and How to book an appointment for a vaccination or booster jab in Spain

Image: Wikimedia Commons