The mask will remain mandatory under penalty of a fine in Spain once the deconfinement is complete and until the coronavirus is "definitively defeated", announced Tuesday the Minister of Health Salvador Illa.
A fine of 100 euros may be imposed on people who do not wear it on public roads or in closed places such as shops when they cannot maintain a safe distance from those around them, the ministry said in a statement.
It will also remain compulsory in public transport, in planes, trains or in private vehicles whose occupants do not share the same domicile.
Over 27,000 dead
Spain, one of the countries most affected by the pandemic in the world with more than 27,000 deaths, has imposed the mask on more than 6 years since May 21 on the public highway and in closed places if the distance from security cannot be maintained. This distance, previously 2 m, has been reduced to 1.5 m.
The mask was mandatory since May 4 in public transport. The maintenance of the compulsory nature of the mask is part of a set of measures adopted Tuesday by the government and intended to continue the fight against the virus, once the deconfinement is complete and the state of alert lifted on June 21.
"These measures which were in effect during the state of alert will remain in force until we have definitively overcome the virus, that is to say when we have an effective therapy or a vaccine", insisted the Minister of Health.
Freedom of movement scheduled for June 21
Spain, which imposed one of the strictest confinements in the world in mid-March, began a very cautious phased deconfinement almost a month ago.
The Minister of Health confirmed that once the state of alert was lifted on June 21, freedom of movement would be restored in the country and even for the inhabitants of Madrid and Barcelona, the two cities most affected by the pandemic and whose deconfinement in phases should not yet be completely finished by this date.
Measures to return to work
On June 21, "if the state of alert is lifted as planned, mobility will be unrestricted in our country", he said while currently most of the Spanish cannot get out of their province (comparable to a department in France).
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Beyond the mask, the decree adopted Tuesday provides for prevention measures in the workplace relating to "the organization of work stations or rotations (of teams) in order to avoid gatherings", or in the hotel and Restoration.
Passenger data kept for 4 weeks
The government also requires in this decree of the 17 regions, competent in health matters, that they have a sufficient number of personnel engaged "in the prevention and control" of the pandemic in order to quickly detect new outbreaks.
In order to guarantee the "traceability" of new cases, airlines or land transport companies will have to keep their passenger data for "at least four weeks".