The route of the masks in Spain has been, to say the least, curious. If they were not ” necessary ” they became mandatory . Later some, those distributed by the Government of Isabel DÃaz Ayuso, were branded as ” selfish .” Now, with many European countries already withdrawing them from circulation in open spaces, even with a worse situation of infections, Spain continues to cling to their mandatory use. The Government of Pedro Sánchez assumes that they will withdraw “soon” but there is still no date for this.
From this Thursday, June 17, the French can go out without a mask. It will only be necessary to access closed public spaces, shops, restaurants or means of transport. France , the latest country to join the elimination of mandatory outdoor masks, reported an incidence of 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 14 days on Wednesday. In Spain , the same day, it was 98 cases.
However, Spain will continue sine die taking to the streets with masks. And it will do so after almost a month of promises to eliminate them “as soon as possible.” The head of government expert, Fernando Simón , assured last May that the end of the masks was near: “In June.”
June came and Simón qualified himself: it is not yet possible “in any way” to put a date on it. The last to put the removal of the masks on the table this Wednesday was Pedro Sánchez: it will be “soon”, but the Government still does not specify when.
In Europe there are at least six countries with worse infection figures than Spain that no longer require the use of masks. In addition to France, the list is made up of the United Kingdom (with an incidence of 136), Belgium (127), Sweden (146), the Netherlands (140) and Ireland (111).
In fact, the outdoor mask only resists in the Mediterranean arc: Portugal , Italy , Greece and Spain continue to consider it mandatory.
From not necessary to essential
At the beginning of the pandemic, Health classified the mask as not necessary. He did it through Fernando Simón: « It is not necessary for the population to wear masks. Its use is interesting in patients with symptoms. But it does not make any sense that the population is concerned about whether or not they have masks at home.
The Government ended up surrendering to the evidence that all the scientists pointed out and decreed it mandatory in public spaces last summer. Since then, not taking her out on the street has led to fines and penalties, and even arrests. Today, Spain is one of the few countries that resists, again, the scientific evidence that indicates that they are no longer necessary.
