00:00 Five Spanish regions have reintroduced rules making face masks compulsory in health facilities,
00:07 following a spike in flu and COVID-19 cases over the festive season.
00:11 In the last week of December, 953 cases per 100,000 inhabitants were presenting at primary
00:18 health care centres around the country with acute respiratory illness, while hospitalisation
00:23 rates showed a steeper upward increase than last year.
00:28 In some regions, the rate of respiratory infections was more than 1,500 per 100,000 inhabitants.
00:35 The region of Valencia is among the hardest hit.
00:38 There, health chiefs instructed people with symptoms, as well as medical professionals
00:42 and family and friends in waiting rooms, to wear masks for the foreseeable future.
00:46 It also left the door open to the rule being extended to other areas where people with
00:51 vulnerable health gather.
00:53 Catalonia, Aragon and Murcia issued the same instruction, while Galicia has recommended
00:58 mask use.
01:00 In Barcelona, some residents had taken it upon themselves to wear masks elsewhere.
01:04 "I don't think it's necessary in the open air, but it is a public transport, places
01:09 where there are a lot of people at the moment, where there are a lot of viruses running around
01:14 and a lot of people with flu and a lot of old people who suffer.
01:18 We have to protect ourselves and we have to protect them."
01:21 Spain was among the last European countries to drop requirements to wear face masks following
01:28 the COVID-19 pandemic.
01:30 People were told to wear them on public transport until February last year and in health centres
01:34 and pharmacies until July.
01:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments