Foreign Office issues Spain travel warning as country enforces face mask rules
Brits are being issued with a travel warning by the UK government if they're heading on Spain holidays.
This week the holiday hotspot became the first country in Europe to reintroduce face mask requirements when entering certain buildings like hospitals and health centres as coronavirus and influenza cases rose.
As a result, the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has issued advice for Brits who are soon to head to Spain.
The updated Health advice reads: "Due to an increase in respiratory infections such as flu and Covid, you may be required to wear a face mask when using healthcare facilities such as doctors surgeries, hospitals or pharmacies. Specific rules on the use of face masks may vary by region.
"You should refer to the advice of local authorities in your destination and ensure you are aware of the specific measures in place on how best to protect yourself and others."
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Face coverings must now be worn in health care settings in Spain (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Spain's new face mask rules only apply in certain settings and currently you generally won't need a face covering when out and about in public.
It was reported this week that the new JN.1 variant has become the most dominant strain of coronavirus on the planet, as more than 10,000 deaths from the virus were logged last month.
The strain is a mutation from Omicron which ran riot in Christmas 2021. Experts believe the current wave of the virus has been fuelled by the new variant along with festive socialising. It is feared JN.1 could hit an all-time high in the UK in as little as a week if numbers continue to soar.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization director-general, told a press conference in Geneva the JN.1 variant was now the most prominent in the world. He added he is "certain" cases are on the rise in other places which have not been reported.
Calling on world governments to boost surveillance, he added: “Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable.”
Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead at WHO for COVID-19, added there has been an increase in respiratory diseases across the globe due to the coronavirus but also flu, rhinovirus and pneumonia. She said: “We expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the northern hemisphere.”
Last week, scientists said Covid cases may reach new record highs in the UK by mid-January after JN.1 became dominant over Christmas. The data was drawn from the latest ONS and UK Health Security Agency winter infection survey.
The research, published on December 21, estimated on December 13, 2.54million people had Covid. That was more than double the amount seen at the start of December. Another warning said more than 100,000 Brits could develop Long Covid in coming weeks.
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