Face masks could be mandatory again in hospitals

Face masks could be made mandatory again in all hospitals. The Spanish government has put the option on the table if cases of flu and Covid-19 increase in the coming months. 

Spain's health minister, Mónica García, last week opened the door to making them mandatory. 

"It's not about acting when the situation is critical, it's about taking preventive measures before cases increase exponentially," the minister said, referring to last year's complication of introducing face masks when cases were already high. 

However, the final decision on whether to make them mandatory will be in the hands of the governments of the autonomous communities. 

In Catalonia, if the incidence of these diseases increases, the government has also opened the door to recommending them again in hospitals.

The secretary for public health, Esteve Fernández, said in an interview with Rac1 radio that, if necessary, they will introduce them "progressively" and "coordinated". 

Currently, hospitals in Catalonia have flexibility in their policies on the use of face masks, and some hospitals already make them mandatory in certain departments. 

"Each hospital can take the measures it wants, but if the situation worsens and we give an order from the department, it must be followed by all," Fernández said.  

However, the secretary insisted that infection levels are now low and that if the situation changes, "we will model it according to the different scenarios."