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As the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), influenza and respiratory syncytial virus infections and hospitalizations rise in Europe and around the world, Spanish government officials have announced a nationwide mask mandate for hospitals and clinics. We are considering making it mandatory.
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According to Reuters, Spain’s Health Minister Monica García said on Spanish state public television that wearing masks “is one of the things we know that can reduce the epidemic and protect vulnerable people.”
Some regions of Spain (such as Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia) have already imposed restrictions on patients, staff and visitors after the holidays saw a spike in coronavirus and influenza cases across the country. The Financial Times reported that people are starting to wear masks again.
The Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine said in a press release on Friday that the number of people seeking emergency services for acute respiratory infections, such as influenza A and COVID-19, has increased by 35% compared to the same period last year. It was announced that the system was under strain.
A decision on whether to reinstate the mask mandate will be made by the end of Wednesday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
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“This is a common sense measure, backed by science and widely accepted by the public,” Garcia said of the requirement to wear masks in medical settings.
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Some hospitals and medical settings in the United States are also returning to mask-wearing requirements. As of January 4, the number of infected people and hospitalized patients with respiratory diseases including the new coronavirus, influenza, and RSV, which constitute the “triple pandemic” of diseases spreading around the world, is increasing nationwide. Because of this, hospitals in four states have reinstated mask mandates.
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twenty four%. This was the median influenza test positivity rate for countries reporting data to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control in the latest weekly update, covering 31 December to 6 January 2023. This was higher than the median test positivity rate for both coronaviruses. -19 and RSV positivity rates were 14% and 3%, respectively.
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