British Expat Councillor In Spain Urges Expats To Obey Safety Rules

A British councillor based on the Costa Blanca is urging expats not to ignore the rule that face masks must be worn.

According to local councillor Samantha Hull, the wearing of face masks not only protects people from contracting or passing on the coronavirus, as it’s also a reminder that the deadly pandemic is still out there. She’s concerned that, in spite of warning signs and updated information, a number of customers in local bars and restaurants popular with expats are flouting the lockdown laws. She added she’d been alerted to several incidents by social media complaints.

In Spain, it’s still against the law not to wear masks or to flout the social distancing rules, even when visiting local restaurants and sitting outside on their terraces. Masks, says Hull, must also be worn when visiting a local rest room, as complacency may well result in a resurgence of infections. It seems the Spanish government is readying a bill making the wearing of masks compulsory even when the country’s state of alarm is cancelled later in the month, and those refusing to comply in closed spaces will face fines of €100.

Spain’s war against the coronavirus seems to have been relatively successfully fought, but those in local and national authorities fear a return to normality will result in a second, far more severe wave of infection. Even now, coronavirus outbreaks are being discovered in residential and nursing homes as well as amongst workers picking fruit in Catalunya. According to the country’s minister of health, the small outbreaks have been investigated and are now under control.