Face masks to be made mandatory where safety distances can't be guaranteed

The Spanish government is to make wearing masks in public mandatory, both indoors and outside, "if it is not possible to guarantee a minimum safety distance of two meters."

The measure will be introduced in the coming days via a ministerial order.

Currently, face masks are only obligatory on public transport, but there have been increasing calls, including from Catalan president Quim Torra, for more widespread implementation.

The decision to extend the measure was made on Monday afternoon at a meeting of health authorities and regional representatives.

On Sunday, Spanish health minister Salvador Illa said that there was unanimous agreement to "reinforce" the obligation to wear face masks.

The measure had been called for by some regional authorities, although the director of Spain’s health emergency response unit, Fernando Simón, had stated on several occasions that the possibility would be studied. 

Simón announced that certain groups that cannot wear masks for a long time would need to be taken into account. On Sunday, however, Illa already said that there was consensus to "strengthen" the obligation to wear face masks, but he did not specify in which cases.