Britons headed for Costa Brava holiday may be expected to wear masks on the beach

British holiday-makers heading for the Costa Brava will be expected to wear masks on the beach as Catalonia prepares to tighten its rules after it was hit with a surge in coronavirus.

Catalan Health Minister Alba Verges is proposing the move with the Spanish region in renewed lockdown, with regional governors deciding on Wednesday whether to back it.

Face masks are currently obligatory in Spain only on public transport and in closed public spaces, and outdoors where social distancing cannot be guaranteed.

But the proposal would require people in Catalonia, one of two areas back in mini-lockdown, to wear them virtually everywhere outside their home - including on the beach.

At the moment, sunseekers can ditch their facemasks once they are on the sand.

The only exception is on beaches in La Marina north of Lugo in Galicia, the other area in Spain on a mini-lockdown following a rise in new Covid-19 cases, where sunbathers are having to wear face masks at all times.

There, they can only take them off to swim in the sea or in their hotel pools.

A spokesman for the Generalitat, Catalonia’s regional government, said any toughening of the rules on face masks would be the result of the “relaxation” some people appeared to have adopted following the end of Spain’s state of emergency on June 21.

Meritxell Budo said: “We will have to live with coronavirus for the next few months. That’s a reality.

“The virus is still here and will continue to spread.

“While we don’t have a vaccine, we will have to put in place other types of barriers.

“We think that by making face masks mandatory, we will guarantee that they are used as they should be.”

On Saturday, 200,000 people in a zone around Lerida, west of Barcelona, were placed under lockdown as more than 1,000 cases of Covid-19 had emerged there since early June.

Chief Spanish epidemiologist Fernando Simon said on Monday he was "very concerned" by the outbreak in Catalonia.

Another 70,000 people are being isolated in Galicia, with traffic in and out of both affected areas strictly controlled.

Spain is one of the countries hit hardest in Europe, with more than 28,300 deaths from the virus.

READ MORE: Can I visit Spain? The latest travel advice