New Law For Mandatory Wearing Of Face Masks In Public – Even At The Beach
The Spanish government published yesterday, 30th March a new in the BOE Official Gazette making wearing face masks mandatory in all public spaces regardless of the distance between people.
The new law states that “people from the age of six and older have the obligation to wear masks in all outdoor, indoor or closed spaces that has a public use or is open to the public.”
Fines of up to 100 EUR will be imposed on those found in breach.
The law will remain in effect “until the government declares an end to the health crisis created by Covid-19, based on reasoning and scientific evidence.”
At present the government’s state of alarm decree is in force until May when it will require parliamentary approval for an extention.
The new law updates the previous decree from June last year, requiring the use of face masks in public and outdoor spaces when it was not possible to keep a distance of 1.5 meters or more between people.
In addition this will apply across all of the country’s 17 autonomous communities, whose governments have been able to adapt the rules to local circumstances until now.
The decree makes wearing masks mandatory, even at the beach or in community or public swimming pools, which has raised eyebrows among tourism chiefs for the effect it may have on Spain’s struggling tourist sector.
The government’s Inter-Territorial Council of the National Health System is due to meet today and the agenda will include whether “any concept requires some nuance by the regions or by the government of Spain.”
People may still exercise outdoors individually without wearing a mask.
