The Generalitat considers that the mask may no longer be mandatory indiscriminately in health centers, pharmacies and residences, and has requested the central government to review the protocol for use, so that it is limited to people with respiratory pathologies or those who deal with vulnerable people.
The Secretary of Public Health, Carmen Cabezas, sent a letter three weeks ago to the Public Health Commission of the Ministry of Health requesting that the mask and isolation protocol in residences be adapted to the epidemiological situation current “For months we have had a low level of virus circulation and with indicators of severity that are similar to those of other respiratory infections such as the flu,” he argued in statements to TV3. According to Cabezas, it would only be necessary to wear a mask when necessary: ​​”when treating respiratory pathology or when treating very vulnerable people”, according to Health sources. Nursing home workers, for example, should not use it to care for a resident who does not have respiratory failure.
Salut argues that the context has changed. Winter has passed, the epidemiological situation is quite stable and “there is a very high level of immunity in the population” due to high vaccination coverage and natural immunity derived from infections. “The healthcare impact is also low, with 14 people in hospital for covid [in Catalonia] and 310 people admitted with covid (last year on the same date there were 933 and two years ago, 1,539)”. explains the ministry.
Likewise, he affirms that nursing home workers and health professionals in psychiatry and other specialties “have conveyed to us the difficulties for communication and emotional health that the use of masks entails when it does not bring great benefits”.
The Director of Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, Fernando Simón, predicted yesterday that the obligation in pharmacies will be removed soon, but in his opinion it would not be out of place to keep it “for a while”, not long, in health centers . Simón advocated for linking the abolition to the incorporation of the mask into the culture: “Wearing a mask when you have a respiratory infection is to show that you care about the people around you”.
The Junta d’Andalusi rejected this overture by Simón and Catalonia’s theses. “Precisely now there is a slight upswing, in relation to parties and meetings”, “this is not the time to debate whether or not to take off the mask”, replied the Ministry of Health.