The Spanish Government will impose next Wednesday the mandatory use of the mask in health centers throughout the country before the wave of flu cases and after hospital admissions for this disease have increased by 60% in one week.
The objective of Ministry of Health Spanish people equalize protection against viruses respiratory of all citizens and legally protect to the communities that have already implemented the measure, which are Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Aragón, Murcia and, as of this Tuesday, the Canary Islands and Asturias.
The ministry resorts to the law on cohesion and quality of the Health System after the meeting with the autonomies ended without an agreement
This has been reported to the EFE agency by sources from the department he directs. Monica Garciawhich specify that this decision is made under article 65 of the law on cohesion and quality of the National Health System, which regulates the declaration of coordinated actions in public health and that “obliges all parties” included in it.
The intention of Health is to unify the protection of citizens regardless of the community in which they live, in addition to providing legal support to communities that have chosen to make it mandatory in health centers and hospitals.
The measure seeks to guarantee protection to all citizens, regardless of the community in which they live.
This formula was already used during the Covid-19 pandemic to impose restrictions such as hourly limitations on hospitality, closing nightlife or prohibiting smoking in the street once the communities recovered their powers at the end of the state of alarm.
The decision gives legal protection to the six autonomies that have recovered the mask, including Catalonia
Although during the pandemic the Spanish Government resorted to decree laws to regulate the use of masks, the decision whether or not to implement their mandatory use is the responsibility of the autonomous communities.
This decision was announced hours after the meeting of the Interterritorial Council in which Health had called on the autonomies to recover the mandatory nature of masks in health centers ended without agreement. Except for the six mentioned, the rest preferred that the use of a mask be recommended and not mandatory
Among these, Madrid. The president of the Community, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has criticized the “inaction” of the ministry to confront the increase in respiratory viruses and has considered the idea of recovering the use of masks as an attempt to “draw attention with measures that often They are occurrences to show who is in charge and who is there.
Wednesday is when the deadline that Health has given to the communities to analyze the proposal to recover the masks ends.
The mandatory use of the mask in health centers is endorsed by the Family Medicine societies, the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine (SEMES) and the Federation of Associations for the Defense of Public Health (FADSP), which even propose extend the obligation in public transport and spaces without adequate ventilation.
According to the latest data from the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (SiVIRA) of the Carlos III Health Institute, hospital admissions due to flu increased by 60% in one week in Spain, up to 9.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, 3, 6 points more than the previous week and rising since the end of October.
Minister Mónica García has defended the use of masks given the rebound in respiratory viruses, with an incidence, she said, that “is cause for concern.” “We are at higher flu levels than in recent years.”
Related news
The head of Health has assured that the problem is not so much infections as health collapse. Collapse that could worsen with the start of the school year after the Christmas break. In fact, communities like Cantabria have recommended families in the region not to take their children to school or extracurricular activities after the holidays if they have infectious or respiratory symptoms, even if they are mild.
The peak is yet to come
This debate occurs when the respiratory virus epidemic has not reached its peak. The primary care centers (CAP) of Catalonia expect that the peak of flu and covid-19 will arrive “in the second or third week” of January. Right now, CAPs, like hospitals, are very stressed due to the continuous escalation of respiratory viruses. But the Department of Health insists that they are not collapsed.