The Catalan Health Department has declared masks mandatory in primary care centers, hospitals, and nursing homes to contain the flu.

Starting this Wednesday, masks will once again be mandatory in health centers (such as primary care centers), hospitals, nursing homes, and vulnerable care facilities. However, this time the reason for reinstating this measure is the spread of the flu, as the incidence of this virus has increased 2.5 times between December 1st and 7th. In fact, Catalonia is currently at a very high level of transmission, according to the Catalan Infection Surveillance Information System (SIVIC). For this reason, on Tuesday, the Minister and spokesperson for the Catalan Government, Sílvia Paneque, announced that the Department of Health will mandate the use of masks in health centers and nursing homes, a resolution that will be signed this afternoon and will come into effect tomorrow. Although the requirement will not come into effect until Wednesday, when the resolution is published, Paneque has asked citizens to start wearing masks today to help contain the flu in healthcare and social care centers, even though it is not legally mandatory. "It's a measure that saves lives," the government spokesperson insisted.

[We are working to expand this information]

Flu cases double in seven days: everything you should do in the coming weeks