February has started with great controversy, regarding the covid measures established in Spain. With the approval of Congress (162 votes in favor) to impose the mandatory mask outdoors and without a date, through a decree-law defended by President Pedro Sánchez that included other issues that had nothing to do with the coronavirus, Public opinion is now wondering how long, while looking askance at how the majority of Europe is moving in the opposite direction in the midst of a de-escalation of positive cases.
Despite the fact that Spain has been in one for two weeks now, with a decrease in the incidence of the omicron variant, the Government has now decided to reinforce its position of mandatory mask at any point that is not a private environment.
Through a decree-law that has had the approval of the majority of Congress, only 153 deputies have positioned themselves against it, the Executive’s ruse has come to introduce this measure into a package that included, among other matters , the .
The mandatory nature of masks is introduced without an end date
Thus, the mandatory outdoor masks for people over 6 years of age do not have an end date, it will be the Lower House itself that has to revoke them, and for this reason criticism has come from the opposition as well as from government partners. Due to the strange introduction of the measure, but also due to the fact that the rest of the European countries barely impose the use of the mask anymore.
Much less in the open air, the lack of scientific evidence on this fact (), highlights that Spain is going against the current of an Old Continent that has also made the use of the Covid passport much more flexible as well as is more lax, in general, regarding the gauging in restaurants, shops and cultural and sporting events.
This is the use of the mask and other covid restrictions in Europe
Led the return to normality by Denmark, where there have already been and only recommendations exist, France and the United Kingdom have been the last to eliminate the mask outdoors as well as have relaxed the use of the Covid passport. While in the neighboring country the Government plans to eliminate it in the coming days to enter shops, on the islands it will no longer have any use except for travelers.
For its part, in Portugal, Andorra, Belgium, Poland and Hungary it is now possible to go down the street without a mask, for several months, although it is still mandatory in some closed spaces such as shops, schools or public transport. Something similar to what happens in Germany, where it is only mandatory to carry FFP2 on subways, buses and trams, while the Covid passport can now be replaced by a negative test to enter closed environments.
Only Scotland and Italy have a situation similar to Spain within the neighboring countries
Finland and Ireland no longer impose masks outdoors, with the latter lifting all restrictions on hospitality, in the style of the Netherlands, and Austria, for its part, has eliminated mandatory quarantines even for the unvaccinated.
In this way, among the countries closest to Spain, only Scotland and Italy maintain the mandatory nature of masks outdoors. However, the transalpine country has next Thursday, February 10, a key date in its calendar when the epidemiological situation will be evaluated and the veto could be lifted both for this protection and for the closure of nightlife.
Thus, the situation in Spain is surprising, which does not see an end date for the use of masks on the street while the , in a clear symptom that the worst part of omicron has already had its peak a long time ago. A position that the opposition and various institutions have wanted to emphasize, while the Government has introduced the mandatory nature of masks together with the update of pensions.
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