MADRID, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The wearing of face masks in most indoor settings will no longer be mandatory in Spain from April 20 "except for certain exceptions," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez decided on Tuesday.

Accordingly, it will no longer be necessary to wear a mask inside schools, shopping centers, cinemas, theaters, museums, bars, restaurants, nightclubs and gyms.

"We are making progress in returning to pre-pandemic normality. The success of the vaccination campaign allows us to now enter a new stage in the fight against COVID-19," said Sanchez on Twitter.

Facemasks will still have to be worn on public transport and in spaces frequented by vulnerable people, such as health centers, care homes, hospitals and pharmacies. The wearing of face masks will still be recommended at cultural or sporting events attracting large masses of people.

Spain's Health Ministry explained that the continued use of facemasks is also "recommended for teachers who could be vulnerable." As a "general rule", the mask mandate will no longer be enforced at workplaces, but the ministry said that the country's employers can decide otherwise.

In Spain, the outdoor face mask mandate ended in the summer of 2021, but it was briefly reinstated during the Christmas and New Year holidays due to the rise in cases of the Omicron variant of the virus.

According to the Health Ministry, on April 12 the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country was 11,662,214 cases with 103,226 deaths. The 14-day incidence rate in over-60s stood at 435.42 cases per 100,000 population, although most experts expect this figure to rise in the wake of the Easter holidays.