Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s Prime Minister, announced plans to make face-coverings mandatory outside in response to a dramatic rise in the disease Covid-19.
Only six months after the rule was dropped, Spain on Tuesday saw a record 49,823 cases.
As Omicron spreads across Europe, the World Health Organization has declared that Europe has once again become an epicenter for the pandemic. The variant is thought to account for nearly half of infections in Spain.
The mask measure will be put before ministers and signed into law by Christmas, Mr Sánchez told regional leaders. The vaccine booster program will be accelerated with greater military involvement as well.
It avoided the kinds of strict measures imposed by other countries in the autumn months, thanks to Spain’s successful vaccination campaign. Sadly, the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly, and the incidence rate is now at 695 per 100,000 people, which is much higher than it was a year ago.
Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, said the Omicron variant is already dominant in the UK, Denmark, and Portugal and is expected to be dominant in the continent “in a couple of weeks”. In the UK, 106,122 cases have been reported in 24 hours.
