Date Published: 23/03/2021
ARCHIVED - Facemasks will continue to be compulsory even when the new normal reaches Spain
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
The measures in place last summer have been tightened in a law passed by parliament
Last week the rules governing behaviour in the “new normal” in Spain, which will be reached when coronavirus infection rates are sufficiently low, became enshrined in law when the measures applied by the national government last June were approved in a parliamentary vote.
The conditions governing the "new normal" were originally established for the period after June last year when Spain left the first national covid-driven State of Alarm, and continued in place throughout the second State of Alarm which will end in May this year. Following this, the country will again enter a state of "new normal" providing the evolution of the virus remains controllable. This law governs the retrictions which will remain in place until the epidemic is deemed to have concluded.
Among the guidelines established one of the aspects attracting most attention is that the wearing of facemasks in public will continue to be obligatory even in situations where social distancing of 1.5 metres is possible. The law specifies that this is applicable to all people over the age of six in outdoor public spaces and in indoor spaces which are designed for use by the public or which are open to the public.
This rule also applies to schools and, most importantly, is no longer applicable only when it is impossible to maintain 1.5-metre social distancing, as was the case last summer in Spain. In other words, facemasks will be a compulsory element of the new normal in this country on ships (other than in individual cabins), planes, buses and trains, in streets and shops, in private vehicles when the occupants are not all members of the same household and, presumably, on beaches.
Other ways in which the measures passed last week differ from those which were in force last summer include the addition of more recognized coronavirus testing procedures other than PCR, the obligation of all testing establishments (both public and private) to provide daily summaries of results to the health authorities and procedures by which certain research and development contracts related to the pandemic can be extended. In addition, the requirements which currently have to be met in order for triple COPD therapy to be prescribed are suspended for the duration of the health emergency in order to reduce the risk of patients contracting coronavirus while awaiting the completion of paperwork and other bureaucratic procedures.
In short, even when it's over, Covid will continue to dominate the way we live for some time in the future.