MADRID – Spaniards were allowed to drop their face masks for a walk in the park or a trip to the beach on Saturday for the first time in more than a year, but some people were in no rush to dispense with their facial protection against COVID-19.
While masks do not have to be worn outdoors under the country’s newly relaxed rules, people still have to use them indoors or in crowded outdoor spaces where social distancing is impossible.
Spain’s nationwide infection rate as measured over the preceding 14 days was 95 cases per 100,000 of population, down from about 150 cases a month ago, according to Spanish Health Ministry figures on Friday.
Half of the nation’s 47 million population have received at least one vaccine dose, the ministry said earlier this week.
