It does not matter if you are in a park, on a beach, in a swimming pool or on a boat. Masks are now officially compulsory everywhere. It is officially law.
Take note, as this is important: the rule that regulates the use of masks in Spain has now changed officially and now it will be mandatory to put them on in any public space, no matter how far you are from other people. It is also specified that they must be worn correctly. Until now, on the street or in outdoor spaces, it was mandatory to wear a mask but only when there was a distance of less than one and a half meters.
The Official State Gazette (BOE) published yesterday the new law, a measure that seeks to further curb the coronavirus. Law 2/2021 March 29 is a compendium of de-escalation measures that were already agreed on in June 2020, once the first state of emergency had expired.
The norm was originally approved as a decree-law - which raised a lot of controversy - and began to be applied, but then it was processed as law and now has come into force. The autonomous communities have been applying it more or less harshly, according to the number of cases of contagion.
It now states that "People six years of age and older are obliged to use masks (...) on public roads, in outdoor spaces and in any closed space for public use or that is open to the public,". That implies parks, beaches or swimming pools. It also states "all means of air, maritime, bus, or rail transport", as well as in "complementary public and private transport of passengers in vehicles with up to nine seats, including the driver, if the occupants of the tourism vehicles do not live at the same address”. In the case of passengers on ships and boats, it will not be necessary to use masks when they are inside their private cabin.
This new law is valid indefinitely because it will last until the health crisis is over. It states "Until the Government declares in a motivated manner and in accordance with scientific evidence the end of the health crisis situation caused by covid-19...".
Since last summer, when the state of alarm that had begun in March subsided, the autonomous communities adopted the use of masks based on the royal decree-law. The vast majority did it quickly but were able to adapt it depending on each communities unique situation thus considering some exceptions of different types, such as sunbathing on beaches or swimming pools.
Now, with the new law, the requirement to use a mask in outdoor spaces is applicable to all communities, which can no longer regulate their exceptions or adjust their application. There are now no exceptions anywhere, it is national law.
What is your opinion? Do you think the measure should be adopted across Europe by everyone?
Do you think Spain's newly published Face Mask Law should be adopted across Europe?
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