MADRID, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Spain will make it compulsory to wear a face mask outdoors again as part of a package aimed at containing the fast spreading Omicron coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told regional leaders on Wednesday.
With nearly 80% of its population vaccinated and a booster programme gathering pace, Spain was largely spared the rampant wave of infections that led several northern European countries to toughen curbs in the autumn.
But the recent arrival of Omicron has sent numbers skyrocketing, with a record of nearly 50,000 new infections on Tuesday, though hospital admissions and intensive-care cases remain fairly low compared to previous COVID-19 waves.
Indoor mask-wearing was already mandatory in Spain and many Spaniards choose to cover their faces outdoors too, although the legal obligation to do so was dropped in June.
Sanchez had called the meeting of regional leaders, responsible for their own health policy, to coordinate measures against Omicron, which accounted for nearly half of all COVID-19 infections last week, up from 3% a week before.
His administration also proposed to loosen rules on the type of home-testing kits pharmacies can sell and earmark 292 million euros ($331 million) to beef up the struggling primary-care sector, the government said in a statement.
Stark political differences between the regions complicate any broader agreement on concrete restrictions and mean local approaches to curbing infection vary widely.
In Catalonia, where intensive-care occupation is double the national average at 30%, the left-wing administration ordered the closure of night clubs, set limits on group gatherings and sought court approval for a night curfew - the toughest measure available without a national state of emergency.
By contrast, Madrid's conservative leader, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, who won a landslide election in the spring after promising light-touch restrictions, has vowed to keep the hospitality sector open whatever happens.
Although measures against COVID-19 have been ramped up again, Sanchez sought to reassure citizens.
"Don't worry, families will be able to celebrate Christmas," he told parliament before the regional meeting.
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