It had been hoped the rules would be eased ahead of the Easter getaway, but health minister Carolina Darias ruled out an imminent change, the Evening Standard reports.

The rules will now remain in place until after the Easter holidays, and are due to be signed off by Spain’s cabinet on 19 April

It means the change is unlikely to come into effect until Tuesday 20 April when the update is published in Spain’s official state gazette.

Darias said indoor settings where face coverings will no longer be required one the rules are changed include bars, restaurants and shopping centres.

Last week, confusion beset Spain’s entry rules, with the Spanish Tourist Office in the UK reporting non-fully vaccinated travellers would be able to enter the country on the basis of a negative test.

However, the tourist office withdrew the update and reiterated UK tourists heading to Spain would continue to have to provide evidence of full vaccination against Covid-19 or evidence of having recovered from Covid-19 in the past 180 days.