Europe is starting to shed the mask.
It will no longer be compulsory outside from June 26 in Spain, where the health situation is improving markedly, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Friday.
"This weekend will be the last with masks outdoors because on June 26, we will no longer wear the mask in public spaces" in the open air, said Pedro Sanchez during a trip to Barcelona, specifying that this measure would be formally adopted Thursday during an extraordinary cabinet meeting.
“Our streets and our faces will regain their normal appearance,” said Pedro Sanchez.
Germany could follow suit
Spain is thus following in the footsteps of France, which on Thursday lifted the wearing of the compulsory mask outdoors, while Germany is also moving towards a gradual lifting of this obligation. In Spain, the wearing of a mask outside had been imposed from the age of 6 from May 2020. In April, the authorities were however forced to backpedal after the outcry caused by a text even imposing its wearing at the beach.
With more than 80,000 deaths and more than 3.7 million cases, Spain is one of the countries hardest hit in Europe by the pandemic. But the number of new cases has dropped drastically in recent weeks, thanks to the progress of the vaccination campaign. According to the latest government figures, 13.6 of the nearly 47 million Spaniards are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, or 28.7% of the population, while 47.1% have received at least one dose of a vaccine .
