Validation of 'New Normal' Regulations

In a bid to validate the regulations and remove any obstacles in Congress, the Central Government has been in negotiations with several parties and has already secured backing from PNV and Ciudadanos who both supported the last State of Emergency extension.

Discussions are also being held with ERC, although sources in the Executive admit that those talks are more difficult.

The Government has recently introduced amendments to the Decree to include some contributions from the Autonomous Communities and although the new text is still being worked on, the changes to last week’s draft are reportedly minor.

The Draft states that face masks will continue to be mandatory after the State of Emergency has ended, and penalties of up to one 100 euros will be issued for non-compliance.

Masks are compulsory for anyone over the age of 6 “in public roads, outdoor spaces and any enclosed space for public use where it's not possible to guarantee social distancing of 1.5-2 metres.

Face coverings will also be mandatory on transport by air, sea, bus, or rail, in public and private transport, vehicles with up to 9 seats, including the driver, unless the passengers live in the same home.

According to the Draft Decree, Covid-19 is an urgent notifiable disease, which means that the Public Health Authority must be provided with all the necessary data to be able to monitor the virus, "in the appropriate format and in a timely manner, including, where appropriate, the data necessary to identify the person.”

This obligation affects all Public Administrations and Public or Private Centres that depend on them and their activity "has implications for the identification, diagnosis, follow-up or management of Covid-19 cases", especially all Health Services and Establishments and the Health Professionals who work in them.

The Health Services in Autonomous Communities will also have to guarantee, at all levels of care and particularly in Primary Care, that “in any suspected case of Covid-19, a diagnostic test will be performed by PCR or another molecular diagnostic technique, as soon as possible.”