The Madrid region or even Andalusia are considering imitating Galicia, which has banned smoking on streets and terraces without enforcing a social ban
The region of Madrid or even Andalusia is considering imitating Galicia, which has banned smoking on streets and terraces without enforcing social distancing.
To combat the transmission of the virus, the Spanish region of Galicia banned smoking on streets and terraces without a minimum safety distance from Thursday: a measure that is of interest to other regions such as Madrid.
This region of 2.7 million inhabitants in the north-east of Spain has imposed a ban on removing the mask for smoking in a public place if it is not possible to respect a distance of at least two meters between people. Already in June, the Spanish Epidemiological Society requested a ban on smoking outside because “smokers who are infected and asymptomatic can drop droplets containing the virus and pose a risk to the rest of the population.” Other regions, such as Madrid, Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha, in the center, and Andalusia, in the south, are studying the possibility of taking the same measure.
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This decision, for the first time in the country, and apparently also in Europe, contributes to the expansion of other measures taken by regions facing the recovery of Covid-19 in Spain, the most in Western Europe, with almost 330,000 cases.
doubts about the effectiveness of this measure
Many regions have already introduced subdivisions, and limited night activities and meetings to at least ten people. A mask is mandatory throughout Spain, with the exception of the Canary Islands. “If we see that the legislative possibility offered by Galicia can be adapted, then we will,” the head of the health authorities of the Madrid region, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, said on Thursday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that smokers may be more susceptible to contamination and increase the risk of transmission of the virus, smoking, including touching the mouth with fingers. Although the Galicia region’s decision was praised by several epidemiologists, others questioned its effectiveness.
“We still don’t have enough solid scientific information to show that tobacco smoke can transmit disease in an open environment (…), so to take such extreme measures as a ban, I think it’s a bit disproportionate,” Dr. Fernando told AFP Garcia, from the National Center for Epidemiology. The regions are responsible for health in Spain, where more than 28,000 people have died from the coronavirus.
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Galicia, home to pilgrims from Santiago de Compostela, has also reduced shop occupancy rates and increased testing, but it is not the worst-hit region with 30 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Updated date: August 13, 2020, 6:58 p.m
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: newstars.edu.vn