Spain Relaxes Indoor Mask Mandate

After 700 days of a nation-wide indoor mask mandate, Spain took a step towards normalcy once again by making masking indoors obligatory, not required.

This, of course, does not extend to public transportation, like buses or airplanes, though it does extend now to airports, bus terminals and stations, as well as in hospitals and nursing homes.

According to the Associated Press, the end to the indoor mask mandate was announced on Tuesday, April 19 and went into effect on Wednesday, April 20. Though the country has reported a 92 percent vaccination rate for everyone over 12 years of age, many, according to AP, could be seen wearing their masks in large cities such as Barcelona.

“The mask without doubt has been one of the most identifiable measures over the past two years and it will no longer be obligatory,” Health Minister Carolina Darias said Tuesday. “They will continue to be with us as an element of protection, particularly for the most vulnerable.”

This comes after the country has just finished celebrating its Holy Week celebrations after two years without them due to the pandemic. The week-long, or sometimes even weeks-long, celebrations are considered to be one of the country’s biggest holidays. One city in particular, Valencia, celebrated its Holy Week for the first time in three years, marking what the country hopes to be a turning point towards the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spain was the first country in the European Union back in late March to end the testing and quarantine requirements for people suspected of having COVID-19; though travelers still must provide proof of vaccination to enter Spain, they are no longer required to test unless they are children over the age of twelve and are unvaccinated.