Madrid, Dec 23 (AP) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is convening a special Cabinet meeting Thursday to pass a law by decree that makes it mandatory to wear masks outdoors, amid a record surge in COVID-19 cases.

Sanchez announced at a meeting with the leaders of regional governments Wednesday that he was consenting to their appeals to extend mask-wearing rules, his office said. A decree-law does not require a debate and vote in parliament before taking effect.

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He also announced a raft of other measures, including an offer to deploy the armed forces to help the regions step up their vaccination rollout and put military hospital beds at their disposal if they are needed.

Sanchez said he is targeting 80 per cent of the 60-69 age group to have received booster shots by the end of next week, among other goals.

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Also, COVID-19 tests for professional use will temporarily be placed on sale at pharmacies, amid a reported shortage of tests, and medical teams will be reinforced with retired staff and specialists who earned their qualifications outside the European Union.

Furthermore, fully vaccinated people won't need to quarantine if they have been in contact with an infected person - a measure that seemed to be aimed at avoiding the shortages of essential personnel.

Spain on Tuesday officially recorded almost 50,000 new cases of coronavirus. That's higher than last January, when a surge placed the national health system under severe strain.

Spain is reporting almost 700 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days, more than double the accumulated cases before last year's Christmas holidays. The omicron strain has soared from 5 per cent of new cases in Spain to 47 per cent within one week.

Still, vaccinations are credited with sparing many people from the virus's worst effects. While last January some 30,000 COVID-19 patients were in the hospital in Spain, now it's fewer than 8,000.

Sanchez told the Spanish parliament Wednesday that 90 per cent of the target population 12 and over is fully vaccinated.

He told lawmakers, "Don't worry, families will be able to celebrate Christmas. Spain has prevailed." (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)