MADRID – On the day that facemasks are no longer mandatory outside, the corona figures in Spain will also drop significantly. The accumulated incidence decreased by 2201 points in one day. However, despite the extreme decline, Spain is still struggling with more than 62,000 cases per day.
The day many people in Spain have been waiting for has arrived today, Thursday 10 February. Face masks are no longer mandatory on the street. From now on, the advice is only to wear them outside when the 1.5 metres away cannot be guaranteed and inside in public places.
Facemasks are no longer mandatory in Spain after almost two months
Just before Christmas, on December 24, 2021, the Spanish government again announced the obligation to wear masks. This measure again received much criticism from experts who do not consider the use of masks in the open air as an effective measure against the pandemic.
Extreme drop in new corona cases in Spain
The end of the facemask obligation comes at the moment that the sixth wave of corona infections in Spain is falling significantly. Although the Ministry of Health reported 62,839 new corona cases on Wednesday, the corona incidence dropped to 1,692 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants on the same day. The peak of the sixth wave was reached in Spain on January 21.
The decrease in the average number of new corona cases was particularly large in Catalonia (-567 points), Murcia (-249 points), and Valencia (-246 points). The corona incidence in Andalucia and the Canary Islands is even below 1,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Despite the significant drop in the number of cases, Spain still has an ‘extremely high risk’ when it comes to contamination.
The number of infections among children under the age of 12 is still the highest. On Wednesday, the incidence within this group was 2,796 cases per 100,000. While these are high numbers, these numbers are also declining.
How high is the pressure on Spanish hospitals?
The pressure on hospitals is also easing. The occupancy in intensive care with Covid patients fell by 0.64% on Wednesday. Currently, 18.1% of ICU beds are still occupied with covid patients. In Catalonia, the pressure on hospitals is considerable; no less than 36 percent of the ICU beds are occupied with covid patients.
How is vaccination progressing in Spain?
To date, more than 40.9 million people, 86.4% of the population, have received at least one dose. Young children are also included in these numbers. Of the entire Spanish population, 80.9% have been fully vaccinated and 48.3% have also received a booster dose.
