Opinion division on the end of masks indoors: "A slight but progressive increase in incidence is observed in people over 60 years of age"

• Transition This is the draft of the new use of masks that will be released on April 19

• Covid-19 End of indoor masks: how, when and where we will use it from April 20

Next Wednesday, April 20, a new stage begins.

That day a new Royal Decree will come into force by virtue of which

.

This was announced by the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, on April 6.

In a press conference held at the Palacio de Fuensalida, in Toledo, Darias advanced that masks will no longer be mandatory indoors in general, although they must continue to be used "in healthcare centers, both for workers and visitors and for people admitted when they are sharing common spaces outside their room".

The obligation to use them in social health centers, for workers and visitors in shared areas (including pharmacies) will also be maintained;

and in the means of transport.

No student at any school stage will be required to wear a mask.

And in the work environment it will be each company that makes the final decision, although its use is recommended whenever the work must be carried out at an interpersonal distance of

and adequate ventilation of the space cannot be guaranteed.

This change in the measures to control the pandemic, the Ministry pointed out in a note, "is based on the report made by the experts of the Alerts Panel, which also advises the responsible use of the mask indoors for the vulnerable population. and other areas such as closed spaces for public use".

"In Spain we have been giving the strategic responses that the pandemic situation has required at all times. Fortunately, thanks to the very high level of immunization that the population has,

," the minister stressed in her speech after the ad.

Among experts in Epidemiology and Public Health, however, opinions are divided.

For

, head of the Preventive Medicine and Public Health service at the Puerta de Hierro University Hospital in Majadahonda (Madrid), the measure is appropriate at this time of the pandemic.

"I think it is time to gradually withdraw the mandatory use of masks indoors.

," he points out.

In any case, the specialist stresses that the mask should continue to be recommended for all vulnerable people, such as the elderly or immunosuppressed patients.

"These cases should continue to wear the mask when they are in closed places where there is not enough ventilation and adequate interpersonal space."

"We are witnessing a significant growth in the number of cases of infection that, although they are not serious, can put some vulnerable people at risk," continues Asensio, who points out that, in addition to what is provided in the Royal Decree, for the general population, the mask must continue to be a

to resort to on certain occasions.

"I think that a lesson to be learned from this epidemic is that when there are respiratory viruses in circulation, especially in the cold months, the mask is a way of not exposing others and of protecting ourselves when we are in closed environments," he points out.

For

, a member of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology, that masks are no longer mandatory in interior spaces is, instead, "a premature measure".

The pandemic "continues and there are still many cases and many deaths," remarks the specialist, who recommends continuing to wear a well-fitting mask "in any place with possible overcrowding."

José Jonay Ojeda

, spokesman for the Spanish Society of Public Health and Health Administration (SESPAS), points out that "it is difficult to argue the relaxation of the use of masks indoors with exclusively epidemiological criteria. Especially given that the new surveillance strategy began to work on March 28 and that the decision was made on April 6 to take effect on April 20.

"Many colleagues think that it would have been better to wait for this week's follow-up data to ratify this change. This is so because a slight but progressive increase in the accumulated incidence is being observed in people over 60 years of age and it is foreseeable that this increase increase even more after the social acts of this Holy Week", clarifies Ojeda.

“There is no other option but to continue to monitor the evolution of the epidemiological unifiers established by the new strategy. And if they worsen, especially those related to hospital admissions, review this flexibility that, barring any surprises, will be approved by the Council of Ministers,” he adds.

Antoni Trilla

, a specialist in Preventive Medicine and Public Health and dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Barcelona, ​​points out, for his part, that although the relatively high incidence that exists at the moment "perhaps it would force us to be a little more prudent , it is also true that the number of hospitalized and seriously ill cases, which is a very important indicator, remains low.

“We have to wait to see the final wording of the Royal Decree, but it seems that the obligation to wear a mask will be maintained in certain circumstances that aim to protect the most vulnerable population and avoid those situations that may have a greater risk, such as the concentration of people for a long time and with close contact that occurs on public transport," says Trilla, who stresses that the new Royal Decree will not entail, in any case, an obligation to remove the mask.

“There will be people who will want to continue wearing the mask even if they are not considered a vulnerable population. What we have to do now is live with the two circumstances. And we will all have to continue to have a mask close by, because we will have to use it in some situations.”

"The withdrawal of the mandatory use of masks indoors after Easter seems reasonable to me in the current epidemiological scenario. Always with the exceptions and nuances proposed in the draft of the Alert Report that has circulated these days. And provided that the hospitalization data do not rebound in the next two weeks", said Salvador Peiró, a researcher at the Foundation for the promotion of health and biomedical research in the Valencian Community (FISABIO) in statements to Science Media Center Spain.

"I think it is important to emphasize the situations in which the Report

(not only those in which the use is mandatory) to continue using masks indoors. In this sense, it would be of interest for the Ministry and Autonomous Communities to carry out a social communication campaign transferring the population the importance of these recommendations (also the recommendations associated with isolation)," he added.

"With the "end of the pandemic" sound that the withdrawal of measures has (and the way of communicating them), it is foreseeable that there will be very little adherence to the mandatory and recommended ones. And with the current levels of transmission, adherence to the recommendations is still very important."

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