MADRID—Spain will end a mandate to wear masks outdoors next week, reversing a late December order.
After confirming that contagion levels have peaked, the Spanish Cabinet will end the mandate next Tuesday and the government expects the changes to be adopted from Thursday, Feb. 10, Health Minister Carolina Darias told Cadena SER radio on Friday.
Mask wearing will remain mandatory in indoor public spaces, including public transportation, and outdoors whenever citizens can’t keep a safe distance of 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) between them.
The outdoor mandate, adopted on Dec. 22 as many were preparing to reunite with loved ones on Christmas, was the government’s main response to the spread of Omicron.
The decision was criticized by some experts as a cosmetic move that had little effect in halting contagion.
