Government distributes 10 million face masks to be handed out as of Monday around Spain to workers at main transport hubs

This measure is framed within the strict limitations on movement in place since the start of the state of emergency and is in line with the priorities and recommendations set by the Ministry of Health, including the recommendation on the use of face masks by those workers who cannot work from home or travel to work in a private vehicle, by bike or on foot but have public transport available used by a large number of people.

The government delegations in all the autonomous regions and cities around the country were tasked with receiving the items corresponding to their territorial area on Saturday and Sunday, which were assigned under criteria of population size. The government sub-delegations also actively took part in their distribution.

The batch comprised some 10 million face masks that arrived by air to Spain on Friday night, acquired and managed by the government.

The Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, held a video-conference on Saturday afternoon with all the government delegations to specify and organise both the distribution per region and the operation to hand out the face masks at the main public transport hubs. The meeting was also attended by the Minister for Territorial Policy and Public Function, Carolina Darias; the Junior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Isabel Goicoechea, and the Director-General of Civil Protection and Emergencies, Leonardo Marcos.

Distribution at public transport hubs

The face masks will be handed out on Monday and Tuesday or on Tuesday and Wednesday, depending on the end of Easter in the different regions of the country. This will be performed at certain underground and suburban train entrances, as well as at the main public transport hubs and in other place determined by the government delegations and sub-delegations.

The face masks will exclusively be made available to those people who need to travel to work on transport systems in which it is difficult to respect the safety distance. The Ministry of Health recommends working from home as the top priority, and if not to travel to work in a private vehicle, motorbike, bicycle or on foot, if possible, thus avoiding the use of public transport.

The face masks are to be handed out by members of the National Civil Protection System, with the help of the national, regional and local law enforcement agencies and volunteers.

The National Civil Protection System is coordinated from the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Emergencies of the Ministry of Home Affairs and is made up of members and resources from the Central Government, regional governments and local authorities, among others. The system, activated after the declaration of the state of emergency, coordinates the total actions of close to 350,000 people.

As from Monday, and in parallel, the presence of State law enforcement officers will strengthen their presence at suburban and underground stations and at transport hubs, including bus interchanges, to make the corresponding checks to guarantee that those travelling are authorised to do so under the Royal Decree on the state of emergency.

Non official translation