Spain Not Planning Mask Mandate, As COVID-19 Cases Spike

There are no plans in Spain for a nationwide mask mandate, a source in the country’s Health Ministry told Reuters, as cases spike in the country. The source claimed that regional governments already have the equipment needed to deal with the roughly 100 localized outbreaks across the country.

The northwestern region of Catalonia had already made mask-wearing compulsory for its residents.

Spain had recently issued a lockdown order for the region of Catalonia due to the virus, confining 160,000 people in their homes. On Monday, a judge barred Catalan authorities from imposing the decree, as it infringed on constitutionally-protected rights. Spain also recently imposed a temporary lockdown on the northwestern region of Galicia.

On Friday, Spain recorded 852 new infections, the highest daily increase since nationwide lockdown restrictions were lifted last month. As of Monday at 11:35 a.m. ET, there are 253,908 total cases in Spain, according to Johns Hopkins University, with the country’s death toll at 28,403.

As the virus impacted important industries such as tourism, Spain’s GDP dropped by 5.2% in the first quarter. In the second quarter of the year, the economy is expected to contract by a larger amount.