From this Wednesday, masks will again be mandatory in hospitals and health centers in Spain due to an increase in the number of respiratory infections.

(CNN, Spanish) — The Spanish government will reintroduce the mandatory wearing of masks in hospitals and health centers starting this Wednesday, the Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Spanish government spokesman Pilar Alegría said on Tuesday. From 5 July 2023 its use in these premises is no longer required.

With this measure, the Spanish executive intends to stop the current increase in the number of infections that the country is suffering from influenza, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus. “triple” and this is felt, especially in the emergency services of many medical centers. “If we want to return normality to our hospitals, our health centers, our primary health centers, to avoid tension and collapse, decisions must be made,” Alegría justified at the end of the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers.

The Minister of Health, Monica García, notified this Monday the health advisers in the various regions of the country of the need to reinstate this measure, although there was no consensus on this issue. For this reason, he proposed a period of forty-eight hours, ending this Wednesday, to allow regional representatives to present allegations and contribute to this government proposal.

Some autonomous communities, such as Madrid, criticized the initiative. “The mandatory wearing of masks is now an improvisation,” the region’s president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, criticized in a tweet posted on her official X profile. Imposition for the sake of imposition is a resource of a weak manager,” he added.

However, due to this surge in infections, at least six autonomous communities decided before this Tuesday to make its use mandatory in health centers. Specifically these are: the Canary Islands, Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia and Asturias.