Following the meeting of the autonomous presidents, the government meets an extraordinary Council of Ministers on Thursday to re-establish the mandatory usage of masks in public. Given the recent surge in the number of cases, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, declared this measure during the Conference of Presidents held this Wednesday telematically to discuss the situation of the Covid-19 pandemic with the regional presidents. In this context, the head of the Executive finally acknowledged the seven regional presidents who had suggested to the Government that the provision requiring the use of a mask outside be reintroduced. The federal government agreed to eliminate the mandatory usage of the mask outside if it was more than 1.5 meters away on June 26. Sanchez, on the other hand, has decided to re-propose this mandatory nature as a step that, in his perspective, can prevent the virus’s spread in Spain.

Military immunization should be reinforced

According to government sources, the head of the Executive yesterday advocated reinforcing vaccination devices with Armed Forces teams and making Military Health Network hospitals available. In this context, the president proposed that the vaccination process be intensified and accelerated, with the following goals in mind: that 80% of the population between 60 and 69 years of age be vaccinated with the third dose before the end of the year; that 80% of those between 50 and 59 years of age be vaccinated in the week of January 24; and that 80% of those between 40 and 49 years of age receive the booster dose in the first week of January. Furthermore, it targets for 70% of children aged 5 to 11 to receive the first paediatric dose by the week of February 7 and 70% to receive the second paediatric dose by the week of April 19.

Recruiting retired healthcare workers

Another action that Sánchez delegated to regional presidents was the authorization for the hiring of retired and pre-retirement health employees, as well as the appointment of professionals with specialty qualifications gained in countries that are not members of the European Union. Furthermore, sources at the meeting told Europa Press that Sanchez assured the regional leaders that the extraordinary council of ministers would approve a “reinforcement of human resources” tomorrow, which would be articulated through the recruitment of this retired health staff. For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.