Spain’s Health Ministry orders citizens, including children over 6, to wear masks in public spaces

The Spanish Health Ministry has made it compulsory for all citizens, including children over six, to wear masks in public spaces. Its order said the masks would be needed from Thursday for indoor public spaces and outdoors when impossible to keep a two-meter distance. Masks’ efficiency in curbing the coronavirus is hotly debated globally.

Spain has suffered 27,778 deaths and had 232,037 cases of Covid-19, Reuters reports. The tourism-dependent economy is forecast to contract up to 12.4 percent in 2020.

The pace of new fatalities has slowed to under 100 a day, and PM Pedro Sanchez’s left-wing coalition is aiming to lift most of the lockdown by the end of June unless there is a second wave.

The government in Madrid is requesting a two-week extension of the state of emergency to keep control on the gradual phase-out of restrictions, which vary from region to region.