Spain has announced a nationwide partial ban on public smoking because it is stepping up restrictions to combat the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports.
Ministry of Health Salvador Illa has unveiled a number of new measures, including requiring social distance when smoking, closing restaurants at 1am and limiting dinners to 10 at a time, the Daily Mail reported. Late night nightclubs and bars will also be closed.
The nation came out on top with just 2,900 new cases reported Thursday. The national measures follow similar requirements in Galicia and the Canary Islands regarding smoking in public spaces.
PEOPLE ‘DON’T BE AFRAID’ CORONAVIRUS SPREAD OF FOOD, FOOD PACKAGING, WE SAY
The Spanish Society of Epidemiologists recommended rules on fears that smoking could help spread the virus, Euronews reported.
“It also points out that the consumption of tobacco in outdoor areas puts both smokers and non-smokers at risk of becoming infected with COVID-19,” a summary of the report stated.
In late July, the group recommended a ban on smoking in private cars, public transportation stops, university campuses and outbuildings.
CORONAVIRUS AND 1918 FLU PANDEMY INSIDE INSIDE, SIT IS DOCTOR
Alberto Fernández Villar, head of the pneumology department at Vigo Hospital and member of the Galician government’s clinical committee, said: “We know that smokers with Covid-19 have a greater viral load and are potentially more widespread. “
However, some experts are skeptical that tobacco smoke has any effect on the spread of the virus. Very few smokers have been hospitalized by COVID-19, reports the Mail.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
“There is not yet enough solid scientific information to show that in open spaces, tobacco smoke can transmit the disease,” said Fernando Garcia, an epidemiologist at the Carlos III Institute of Health. “To take such an extreme measure when there is not enough evidence, I find it a bit disproportionate.”
