Spain says masks no longer totally obligatory indoors

MADRID (AP) — Spain took another step Wednesday toward a sense of normality amid the pandemic by partially ending the near two-year-long obligatory use of masks indoors.

The government decree, passed Tuesday, keeps masks mandatory for visitors and staff in medical centers and nursing homes, although patients won't always be obliged to wear them.

Masks will also be mandatory on all forms of public transportation, but not in stations or airports.

It remains unclear what impact the decree will have on workplaces such as public and private company offices, banks, factories and stores as the government is letting employers decide to keep them in use if they deem there is a health risk.

In turn, they are recommended, but not obligatory, in multitudinous gatherings, in packed areas or in the presence of vulnerable people. Schools are also exempted from having to use them.

Masks became obligatory indoors and outdoors shortly after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain early 2020. The restriction for outdoor use was lifted in mid-2021, but reimposed between December and February amid a major surge of infections of the highly contagious omicron variant.

“The mask without doubt has been one of the most identifiable measures over the past two years and it will no longer be obligatory,” Health Minister Carolina Darias said Tuesday. “They will continue to be with us as an element of protection, particularly for the most vulnerable."

With more than 92% of Spaniards over 12 years old having received at least two vaccine doses and the number of coronavirus infections and deaths dropping sharply in recent months, Spain has also eliminated mandatory home isolation for people infected with the virus who experience no symptoms or mild ones.

The ebbing of the pandemic comes as...