Simón advances the end of masks in transport

The Government plans to approve on February 7 the proposal to withdraw the mandatory use of the mask on public transport

The Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, offers a press conference after the meeting of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System/EFE/Kiko Huesca

In statements to journalists after the presentation of the results of the PASOS 2022 study on childhood obesity, Darias has set a date for this measure, which is expected to come into effect the day after its approval by the Council of Ministers, on February 8.

The mask will continue to be mandatory in Spain in health centers such as hospitals or health centers and in social health centers such as opticians, pharmacies or dental clinics.

The minister, after receiving the proposal from the Alert Report in which she advised withdrawing the obligation, will convene the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System next week to report on this measure, which will later be approved by the Council of Ministers.

The decision is being made now because, according to the minister, the data on infections and the evolution of the pandemic show a “very stable” situation that already advises the withdrawal, although she has asked for “time” to extend this withdrawal to other spaces. “Step by step”, she has said.

The minister has vindicated the effort of citizens, experts, health professionals and the autonomous communities and the Government to face the pandemic.

Simón advanced the removal of transport masks

Yesterday, in Zaragoza, the director of the Health Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Center of the Ministry of Health (CCAES), Fernando Simón, has assured this Wednesday that the end of the masks in transport will come “shortly” and within a period “ very short” of time, for “next week or the following”.

“The decision is not mine alone and the proposals come from the technicians, the experts and the autonomous communities,” said the person in charge of health alerts to journalists in Zaragoza, where he participates in the round table “Truth and Lies, binary code Democracy”, organized by the LAAAB of the Aragonese Executive.

Until now, the recommendation of the alert presentation was to maintain them out of prudence until the end of the season of acute infections, approximately in March, and awaiting the impact that the outbreak of infections in China could have after abandoning the covid zero strategy.

But in recent weeks they have resumed the debate – which is still ongoing – given the stability of the epidemiological situation in Spain, which the Christmas holidays have not altered, according to sources from this technical body to Efe.

In fact, Simón has indicated that what happened in “the last few weeks in China has complicated the situation”, but even so, he has indicated that the withdrawal of the face mask is imminent: “I think that in a very short term, I do not know if the next week or the following, the mandatory use of the mask will be withdrawn ”, has advanced the epidemiologist.

Responsible use of masks

But the director of the CCAES wanted to make it clear that “the message is not that the mask is going to be removed, but rather that now the population has to be much more responsible.”

“When we have symptoms we should use it responsibly and if we are at risk or vulnerable groups too. We must understand that our health somehow affects that of others, especially when there is an infectious disease involved”, added Fernando Simón.

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The researchers tested 14 alternative masks and face coverings. (photo: Emma Fischer, Duke University),