Spanish holiday regions are reintroducing Covid mask rules after seeing a rise in cases
- Health authorities are once again reporting saturated hospitals and patients in the corridors
- GPs are also calling for mandatory wearing of masks in hospitals
The Covid and flu epidemic in Spain is getting so bad that a number of holiday regions are reintroducing the mandatory rule for wearing a mask in certain cases.
Health authorities across the country are reporting oversaturated hospitals and health centers, with patients once again lying in hallways or waiting hours for treatment.
GPs are also calling for the mandatory use of masks in health centers and hospitals across Spain, saying the winter wave of Covid and flu is spiraling out of control.
The Spanish government has not yet announced the return of mandatory face mask wearing, but regions such as Valencia – home to the tourist hotspots Benidorm and Alicante – are already imposing their own rules.
The Valencia Health Department today introduced the mandatory use of masks in health centers due to the increase in respiratory infections.
This preventive measure is considered relevant given the incidence in the Valencian community, with a rate of 1,501 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Holidaymakers wear face masks in Benidorm, Spain, in June 2021. The Valencia Health Department today introduced the mandatory use of masks in health centers in locations such as Benidorm due to the increase in respiratory infections
The aim is to stop infections and protect vulnerable people.
The department is also spreading the message that health centers will vaccinate against flu and Covid-19 without an appointment from next Monday.
From today, wearing a mask is mandatory when entering health centers and hospitals in the Valencian community.
The Ministry of Health established the mask protocol due to the spike in flu cases and respiratory infections in recent weeks.
The latest weekly report on influenza, Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses in 2023 marked a global acute respiratory infection rate in primary care of 908.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, while the previous week this figure was 806; and overall at all levels of care: 1,501 cases per 100,000 inhabitants
The Ministry of Health has sent the health departments of three provinces an instruction from the Directorate General of Public Health establishing the mandatory use of masks in health and social health centers as a preventive measure in light of the resurgence of respiratory virus infections.
Valencia says health services are on the verge of collapse due to the surge in Covid and flu cases after Christmas and are having to send patients to hospitals to cope.
The wave is expected to peak in the third week of January.
There are hospitals in the province of Valencia with an occupancy rate of 96 percent and general practitioners treat 15 patients per day who are not on their schedule due to these infections, with influenza A occurring in seven out of ten cases.
The Spanish Association of General Practitioners is calling for mandatory wearing of masks in hospitals and medical centers across Spain to stop the spread of flu and Covid.