WHO has warned that Europe is once again at the epicenter of the pandemic fearing which Spain has made face-coverings mandatory
After 6 months of doing away with face-covering, the Prime Minister of Spain – Pedro Sánchez has made the face-coverings mandatory for people going outside, amidst surge in the Omicron cases.
The Omicron variant is spreading fast and almost half of the cases in Spain are of Omicron variant. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Europe is once again at the epicentre of the pandemic.
The face covering rule would be signed into law before Christmas. Sánchez also announced an acceleration of the vaccine booster programme with greater involvement from the military.
Taking it to twitter, Sanchez tweeted (translated to English), “Tomorrow we will celebrate an extraordinary #CMin to approve the use of the mandatory mask abroad, promote measures that reduce the tension of the health system and we will issue temporary authorizations for the sale of antigen tests for professional use in pharmacies.” Original tweet in Spanish:
Mañana celebraremos un #CMin extraordinario para aprobar el uso de la mascarilla obligatoria en el exterior, impulsar medidas que reduzcan la tensión del sistema de salud y emitiremos autorizaciones temporales para la venta en farmacias de test de antígenos de uso profesional. pic.twitter.com/mqjgH8pI5s
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) December 22, 2021
He also said that the key measure to deal with Omicron is to intensify and accelerate the vaccination process with the third dose and childhood immunization. Spain had a very successful vaccine rollout and during the autumn months it avoided lockdown and restrictions. But the outbreak of Omicron variant has increased the number of infected cases significantly.
Besides, the Regional Director, WHO Europe – Hans Kluge has warned that Omicron, which is already dominant in the United Kingdom (U.K.), Denmark and Portugal, is likely to emerge as a major variant in Europe in a couple of weeks. Sweden has reported a 30% jump in Covid cases in the past week.
Germany is targeting 30 million vaccinations by the end of December 2021. Germany has also imposed strict restrictions. Private gatherings have been limited to 10 people from December 28, 2021. It has also said that nightclubs will remain shut. France has begun vaccinating children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. It also said that booster will not be offered to children aged between 12 to 15 years of age.
Austria has also announced to close restaurants at 22:00 hours from December 27, 2021 and has recommended that people celebrate the new year on a small scale. Portugal has also ordered bars and nightclubs to shut from December 26, 2021. In Finland, bars and restaurants will have to close at 18:00 hours from December 28, 2021.
It is to be noted that Omicron, first detected in South Africa in November 2021 has spread to around 38 of the 53 countries in the WHO’s European region which includes Russia and Turkey.
