Galicia was followed by the Canary Islands and Castilla y León. In the end the Spanish health ministry took the decision to introduce a smoking ban in streets and on outdoor terraces where a distance of two metres from other people cannot be guaranteed. Across the whole of Spain from 17/8 2020.
The reason is that tobacco smoke may help spread the coronavirus. Some statements by pulmonologists point in that direction. When smoke is exhaled, smaller droplets follow that can carry infectious bacteria from one individual to another.
The World Health Organization has established that smokers are likely to run a higher risk of catching the virus, since smoking in itself means touching your lips with your fingers.
In the end the Spanish health ministry chose to take the decision on a smoking ban across the whole country. By then several regions had already discussed a ban. The daily newspaper ABC reports that Madrid, Cantabria and the Valencia region had also discussed a ban. Navarre, Asturias and Castilla-La Mancha have also raised the question of a smoking ban, the paper writes.
Nightclubs and discos will also close in Spain indefinitely. There will also be a limit of ten people in a party at a restaurant.
Discos and nightclubs announced on Friday that they intend to try to overturn the ban by going to court.
The Canary Islands have also decided to introduce a mandatory face mask requirement. There will also be tough restrictions on nightlife. Gatherings of more than ten people are banned both outdoors and indoors, reports the radio station Cope.
Svenska Magasinet in Spain
News 14/08/2020