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  • Salud Sanidad recalls that the law requires the use of a mask at recess after Ayuso announced its abolition in Madrid

Isabel Díaz Ayuso said yesterday that “I announce that

the masks will no longer be mandatory in the schoolyards

from this Monday, during recess and outdoors. We owe a lot to children, to a generation marked by the pandemic, and we must follow their example. But, this step

has 'small print'

, since today the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid clarifies that

it will be possible to be without a

mask

respecting the distance, that is, a meter and a half.

This distance is the one contained in the current national regulations, Royal Decree-Law 13/2021, of June 24. It is also found

in the modification that the Basque Country made 15 days ago

, in the protocol of preventive measures against Covid-19 in educational centers of the Basque Autonomous Community for the 2021/22 academic year. In it, it allowed

ESO students,

over 12 years old who have access to the vaccine, to

remain in the yard without a mask

.

This Tuesday, the Catalan Government approved a new protocol by which masks are mandatory for children aged six and over, but it is

allowed to dispense with them abroad and when the minimum safety distance can be maintained

and activities are carried out in those that cannot be used: physical sport or playing wind instruments.

If the national text is compared with these new regulations, it can be seen that there is no difference between what is stated in RD 13/2021 and the rest: «Elimination of the mandatory use of masks on public roads and in outdoor spaces. (...) However, the

mandatory use of the mask in the open air is maintained, when there are crowds and it is not possible to maintain a minimum distance

of 1.5 meters between people ”.

Despite this, the Ministries of Health and Education have drawn up an argument about the dangers that this step entails. But according to the Ministry, the declaration of Coordinated Actions in Public Health against Covid-19 for educational centers during the 2021-2022 academic year, approved in a sectoral conference between the Government and communities, determines that the use of the mask is mandatory from the six years of age, regardless of maintaining interpersonal distance or belonging to a stable coexistence group.

However, just a few days ago (on October 11) Health published an official question and answer document on anti-Covid measures in schools. In it, he left the door open to the elimination of masks in outdoor activities without specifying whether these should be classes or recreational moments, but demanding in any case the respect of 1.5 meters of distance. «The use of the mask will be mandatory at school for all people from six years of age, even if the interpersonal distance of 1.5 meters is maintained or if they are part of a stable coexistence group.

In outdoor activities in which the distance of 1.5 meters is respected, it may be valued not to use the mask during that activity

.

Carolina Darias, Minister of Health, yesterday valued the Madrid initiative: "The law was already modified in April, to remove the masks outdoors as long as the safety distance was respected."

The minister also explained that "the Alert Report is reviewing the document on infections and contacts in schools," and added that there is a working group on measures taken in schools.

Spacious patios, no roofs and avoid crowds

Public Health experts and pediatricians

endorse the flexibility

with a series of basic conditions:

maintain bubble groups

in the courtyards, that

crowds are not frequent

, that the

courtyards are spacious

and

are not roofed

and that in the event that children and adolescents have symptoms of colds or other viral infections, even if mild, do not remove them.

Pedro Gorrotxategi,

vice president of the Spanish Association of Primary Care Pediatrics (AEPap), adds that “it

must be taken into account that those same children between 6 and 11 years old, who do not have access to the vaccine

, who wear masks in the yard It is possible that outside of school, in the park, they share the open spaces with classmates without them.

You have to be prudent and use common sense

.

For his part,

Jonay Ojeda

, member of the Spanish Society of Public Health and Health Administration (Sespas) argues that in any case “

the ideal is that the courtyards are large and the children do not crowd

. While it is true that there are still rules regarding bubble groups. For this reason, it would

be ideal if children of different ages should not mix

”. Gorrotxategi adds an extra caution: «We must bear in mind that

its use will be necessary

when children have colds, coughs and mucus

. Masks are a preventive measure that contains the spread of viruses and should be maintained in this regard.

From Sespas, another member of

Manuel Franco

, concludes that «

the children have suffered a lot

and the conditions in which they have to be at school are very harsh.

That the mask is removed outside seems to me to be positive

».

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Science and Health

  • Covid 19

  • Coronavirus

  • Infectious diseases

  • Respiratory diseases

  • Madrid

  • Carolina Darias

  • Basque Country

  • Isabel Diaz Ayuso

  • Health

  • HBPR

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