More Spanish regions make masks compulsory

In May, Spain made mask use compulsory nationwide if social distancing wasn't possible. Everyone aged over five had to don a face covering if they couldn't stay more than two metres away from someone else.

But a growing number of Spanish regions are now tightening those restrictions amid a new rise in confirmed cases.

Catalonia and the Balearic Islands already announced that masks are compulsory in public even if you can socially distance, with few exceptions. Authorities in Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias La Rioja, Murcia and Navarra now also plan to impose similar measures.

Murcia's regional president Fernando López Miras tweeted that from Monday people must wear masks "at all times as a measure of protection for ourselves and others".

One of the worst outbreaks in Spain is around the city of Lleida in Catalonia. Officials there have imposed a local lockdown and even issued a stay-at-home order for some 160,000 people. A judge overruled that order on Monday, saying it went too far, but Catalan president Quim Torra asked people to stay home regardless.

(BBC)