Five Spanish regions have announced the reintroduction of rules mandating the use of protective masks in health facilities, following a rise in influenza and coronavirus cases during the holiday season.
In the Valencia region, the number of respiratory infections rose to 1,501 per 100,000 inhabitants from December 26 to January 1, the highest number of infections reported in the country that week.・This was the second highest number after Mancha province.
Healthcare workers and facilities in Valencia are asking not only people with symptoms to wear masks, but also staff, family members and friends in waiting rooms.
The rule is likely to apply to other areas where people with health conditions congregate.
Neighboring Catalonia has also made masks mandatory in health centers, and the northern region of Aragon has issued a similar directive, adding that workers and the public in general are encouraged to use masks in public places, especially indoors.
The southeastern region of Murcia has also introduced mandatory mask-wearing, and the northwestern region of Galicia has also issued a recommendation to that effect.
Influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus are widely circulating in the community, with influenza being the most prevalent and leading to hospitalizations, according to the latest epidemiological report from Spain’s Carlos III University Health Institute. The people most at risk are infants and the elderly. .
The number of acute respiratory illness cases reported in primary care centers nationwide in the last week of December was 953 per 100,000 residents, compared to 922 seven days earlier, a sharp increase in hospitalization rate compared to last year. did.
The Spanish Association of General Practitioners has called for the wearing of masks to be made compulsory in health centers across the country. The Ministry of Health has convened a meeting of regional health authorities and local media say they are expected to propose implementing mandatory rules across the country next week.