The Official State Gazette has already published the new decree that regulates the use of masks and that will come into effect from this Saturday, June 26. The main novelty, as the central government had already announced, is that its use will no longer be mandatory outdoors, as long as there are no crowds and the safety distance can be maintained.
As was the case until now, children under six years of age are not obliged to use them. As for those over that age, they will have to continue using them "in any closed space for public use or that is open to the public".
Outdoors, it will also be necessary to use it when "it is not possible to maintain a minimum distance of 1.5 meters, except for cohabiting groups".
The decree also makes it clear that its use will be mandatory "in air, sea, bus, or rail transport, including platforms and passenger stations, or by cable car, as well as in public and private complementary passenger transport in vehicles with up to nine seats, including the driver, if the occupants of the vehicles do not live in the same home".
In the case of passengers on ships and boats, the use of masks will not be necessary when they are inside their cabin, nor in outdoor areas of the ship when the safety distance of 1.5 meters can be maintained.
In mass outdoor events, masks must also be worn if attendees are standing or if they are sitting but without that same minimum distance, in the case of non-cohabitants.
The only ones who will be exempt in any circumstance, in addition to children under six years of age, are those who present "some type of illness or respiratory difficulty that may be aggravated by the use of the mask or who, due to their situation of disability or dependence, do not have autonomy to remove the mask, or present behavioral alterations that make its use unfeasible".
Activities in which its use "is incompatible, according to the indications of the health authorities" are also free from the use of masks.
The decree also establishes that from now on, the mask will not be mandatory "in those closed places or spaces for public use that are part of the place of residence of the groups that meet there, such as institutions for the care of the elderly or people with functional diversity, the dependencies destined for collective residence of essential workers or other groups that meet similar characteristics, as long as said groups and the workers who perform their functions there, have vaccination coverage" against Covid-19 "higher than 80% with a complete guideline, accredited by the competent health authority".
The decree clarifies that this exception "will not be applicable to external visitors, nor to workers in residential centers for the elderly or people with functional diversity.
