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Face masks no longer mandatory in Alicante or the wider Valencian Community
Starting January 31, masks won’t be needed in Alicante hospitals or health centres
The Ministry of Health has given the green light for the entire Valencian Community to scrap the mandatory use of face masks in hospitals and health centres from Wednesday January 31. The measure, last seen at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, was reintroduced less than a month ago due to a surge in respiratory infections throughout Spain.
But the flu epidemic has peaked, explained Minister of Health Marciano Gómez, who added that the decision “responds to the notable decrease registered in the last three weeks in the Community in the incidence of acute respiratory infections (ARI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI)”.
Cases currently stand at 830 per 100,000 inhabitants, a big drop from the 1,501 registered during the first week of the year.
Additionally, the minister has stated that the move aligns with the guidelines set forth by the Ministry of Health, which stipulate a sustained decline in incident rates for a period of two weeks as a prerequisite for lifting the obligatory mask mandate.
The incidence rate has behaved in a similar way in the most vulnerable age groups of people such as those under 4 years of age and those over 65, among whom there is a decrease of 28.3% and 44.8% respectively.
However, the Minister has been clear that individual clinics and hospitals can still develop their own protocol and insist on masks if they believe they are needed in their centres.
Meanwhile, the vaccination campaign against Covid and flu is still underway in Alicante and the rest of the Valencian Community, and people can avail themselves of the jab in any health centre without having to make an appointment.
In other news: Spanish police dismantle corpse trading criminal network
Image: Pixabay
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