Andalucia has ordered all health centres and hospitals to advise its patients and staff to wear face masks from next week.
The Junta issued the recommendation as part of its flu action plan in response to a sharp rise in cases.
Regional health minister Antonio Sanz said Andalucia is currently registering a 21.6% positivity rate for influenza, still below the epidemic threshold but climbing steadily.
Speaking after the Interterritorial Health Council, Sanz warned that this year’s flu season is arriving four to seven weeks earlier than usual.
The dominant strain is H3N2, a variant that has not circulated widely in recent years, potentially leaving the population with lower immunity.
‘These measures allow us to get ahead of the curve and shield ourselves from what is expected to be a particularly virulent season,’ he said.
The regional health ministry has been preparing the plan for weeks. Key measures include:
- Strengthening virological surveillance with additional sentinel doctors
- Enhanced monitoring of hospital and urgent-care pressure
- Boosting vaccination coverage in vulnerable groups, with outreach to healthcare workers, professional bodies and associations
One of the most notable measures arrives Monday December 1, when the Junta will issue an order recommending mask use in all healthcare and social-care settings, for both staff and visitors.
This guidance will apply to public and private hospitals, health centres, nursing homes and centres for people with disabilities.
The ministry will also ask facility directors to consider making masks compulsory within their own contingency plans, depending on the local epidemiological situation.
Alongside clinical measures, the plan includes a communications campaign encouraging residents to adopt basic preventive habits, such as wearing masks in high-risk environments, frequent handwashing, improving ventilation in indoor spaces and staying home when symptomatic, particularly to avoid exposing vulnerable people.
Andalucía’s early action comes as regional health authorities across Spain prepare for what could be one of the most unpredictable flu seasons in recent years.
