The Generalitat considers that the mask can cease to be mandatory indiscriminately in health centers, pharmacies and residences, and has asked the Government to review the use protocol, so that it is limited to people with respiratory diseases or those who treat 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 protocol for masks and isolation in residences be adapted to the current epidemiological situation. "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," she argued in statements to TV3. According to Cabezas, you should only wear a mask when necessary: "When respiratory pathology is being treated or when very vulnerable people are being cared for," say Salut sources. Residential workers, for example, should not use it when caring 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 the high vaccination coverage and the natural immunity derived from infections. “The impact of care is also low, with 14 people in the ICU due to 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, it affirms that workers of the residences and health professionals of psychiatry and other specialties "have transmitted to us the difficulties for communication and emotional health that the use of masks entails when it does not provide great benefits."
The director of Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, Fernando Simón, predicted yesterday that the obligation in pharmacies will be eliminated soon, but in his opinion it would not hurt to keep it "for a little while", not too long, in health centers. Simón advocated linking the abolition to the incorporation of face masks into culture: “Using a mask when you have a respiratory infection is to show that you care about the people around you. The Junta de Andalucía rejected Simón's openness. "Precisely now there is a slight rebound, in relation to parties and meetings", "this is not the time to debate whether or not to remove the mask," said the Ministry of Health.
