Mandatory masks and extra health staff during COVID-19

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. It makes mask use mandatory from age six in enclosed public spaces, outdoor public spaces and on transportation, including platforms and stations. Outdoors, the only exceptions are individual sports and non-sports activities in natural areas, keeping a 1.5-meter distance from people outside your household.
2. It lists exceptions to the mask requirement: people with respiratory illness or difficulty, disability or dependency, activities where masks are incompatible, collective residences with vaccination coverage above 80% (not applying to visitors or staff), and enclosed spaces in residential facilities for seniors or people with disabilities.
3. It allows the Government to change the mask mandate by royal decree when the epidemiological situation improves or worsens, on a proposal from the Ministry of Health and after consulting the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System.
4. It keeps, until December 31, 2022, the option for retired Medicine and Nursing professionals to combine their pension with COVID-19 care work in public or private health centers.
5. It exceptionally and temporarily authorizes the autonomous communities, the National Institute for Health Management and the Ministry of Defense to hire health professionals with specialist degrees earned outside the European Union. Contracts can be extended in three-month periods up to a maximum of twelve, and care work must be supervised by staff professionals.
6. It corrects the 2021 adjustment formula for non-contributory pensions and other benefits, so recipients get, before April 1, 2022 and in a single payment, the difference due to the CPI increase, plus an extra 0.9% compared with contributory and State civil service pensions.

Who it affects

• Everyone aged six and over: Must wear a mask in enclosed and outdoor public spaces and on transportation, with some exceptions.
• Retired Medicine and Nursing professionals: Can return to work and receive their pension at the same time until December 31, 2022.
• Health professionals with degrees from outside the European Union: Can be hired temporarily under supervision by autonomous communities and other bodies.
• Recipients of 2021 non-contributory pensions and other minimum benefits: Will receive a single payment before April 1, 2022 to offset the CPI increase.

Words worth knowing

Real decreto-ley (royal decree-law)

A rule with the force of law that the Government can approve immediately in situations of extraordinary and urgent need.

Consejo Interterritorial del Sistema Nacional de Salud

Body where the Ministry of Health and the autonomous communities meet to coordinate health policy.

Pensión no contributiva (non-contributory pension)

A pension for people with insufficient income who have not paid enough social security contributions to get an ordinary pension.

IPC

Consumer Price Index: the indicator that measures price increases.

Revalorización (pension adjustment)

The yearly update of pension amounts to preserve their purchasing power.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries