Junta issues recommendations as the end of mandatory masks on public transport in Spain nears

The regional government’s Minister of Health has called on people in Andalucia to be "sensible", see the mask as "a tool" and use it when they are in closed and poorly ventilated spaces

EUROPA PRESS

SEVILLE.

Monday, 30 January 2023, 16:58

The Junta de Andalucía’s Minister of Health, Catalina García, has asked people in the region to use common sense and prudence and continue to use face masks “in closed, poorly ventilated spaces, especially the most vulnerable and not only to protect against Covid, but also against other respiratory viruses”, just one week before the compulsory use of them on public transport in Spain is eliminated and three years after the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked by journalists at the inauguration of the expansion of the Pino Montano Health Centre, in Seville, the official insisted that "we continue to be in a pandemic situation, with a virus that is mutating, and a global situation of uncertainty due to what is happening in China”.

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Using a simile, the politician wanted to explain the importance of continuing to wear the mask at certain times and contexts. "When at the national level the number of traffic accidents was very high, obligatory drastic measures began to be implemented, such as the wearing of seat belts, slowing down or not using the mobile phone and it was seen that they were efficient" and, in the same way, the use of the mask has been seen to be efficient in avoiding deaths and serious illnesses from Covid.

Tool

Therefore, García asked the public to be "sensible" and see the mask as "a tool" and to use it when they are in closed and poorly ventilated spaces.

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In addition, she has demanded that central government should use the decision-making bodies of the Ministry, which are "the Alert Report, the Health Commission and the Inter-territorial Council", instead of "unilateral" decision-making.

She acknowledged how "tough" these three years of the pandemic have been, with 647 million cases of Covid worldwide and more than seven million deaths. In Andalusia, 1.6 million infections and more than 15,000 Covid deaths have been officially reported by the Junta.