Face mask mandate lifted in pharmacies, hospitals, and health centers

Spanish authorities announced that face masks will no longer be necessary in hospitals, care homes centers, and pharmacies, thereby lifting one of the last pandemic measures still in place. 

On June 23, Spain's health ministry and regional governments approved the move at a meeting of the Interterritorial Health Council, and the decision was pending the green light of the Spanish government, which came on Tuesday midday.

The mandate will be lifted once it is published on the Spanish official gazette, something which is expected to happen on Wednesday.

Only five months ago, face mask mandates were lifted on public transport. 

The announcement comes almost three years after it was implemented, as on December 27, 2020, the Spanish government imposed the need to wear a face mask in health centers. Something that also was in place in dental and fertility clinics, among others.

Although masks are no longer required in most sites, authorities recommend wearing a mask in these places but keep the obligation in hospital areas with patients in a critical state, operation rooms, or ICU.

While Covid-19 still is around, "it is very controlled," and to put an end was needed to "put an end to the health crisis, and all the extraordinary measures have seen recently," from Tuesday, that is also "starting to see the end of the Covid-19 pandemic," José Miñones, Spain's health minister, said to media outlets.

"The Spanish government ends the Covid-19 health emergency. After more than three years, we can now, without losing sight of reality, bid farewell to a pandemic that left a mark in our lives," he added.

"We are making a very important step, and we close the chapter caused by the pandemic," he added.