Wearing a mask indoors will not be mandatory from April 20

Wearing a mask indoors will be optional and not mandatory – except in certain circumstances – after Easter, as announced by Carolina Darias during the celebration of the Interterritorial Council in Toledo. In this meeting, the minister has communicated the intention to approve in Congress the elimination and new uses of masks indoors on April 19, assessing for this the latest document prepared by the Report on Alerts, Preparation Plans and Response of the National System of health. Therefore, it is expected that this new rule will come into force on Wednesday, April 20, once it is published in the Official State Gazette.

In this latest proposal of the Report on Alerts, Preparation and Response Plans of the National Health System dated March 31, 2022, the draft of which the newspaper El Mundo had access to a few days ago, it is indicated that the use of the mask only should remain mandatory in these specific cases:

• Workers and visitors of care and social health centers and people admitted when they are in shared spaces outside their room.
• Public transportation.

The text indicates that a “responsible use of the mask” must be made in:

• Vulnerable population in any situation in which they have prolonged contact with people at a distance of less than 1.5 meters.
• Teachers with vulnerability factors.
• In the workplace, whenever the work must be carried out at an interpersonal distance of less than 1.5 meters and adequate ventilation of the space cannot be guaranteed.
• In the family environment, gatherings of friends and private celebrations. “Responsible use based on the vulnerability of meeting participants” is recommended.
• In closed spaces for public use where people pass through, such as shops (shopping centers, supermarkets or small businesses); closed spaces in which people spend time without eating or drinking (cinemas, theatres, concert halls, museums…) and in closed spaces in which people spend time eating and drinking (bars, restaurants, nightlife venues). ..).

Changes in the use of masks after Easter

The document proposes that “any change in the rules for the use of masks enter into force after Easter 2022”, and that the Conference on Alerts and Preparedness and Response Plans “considers the modifications that are being implemented in surveillance and control of COVID-19 must be carried out progressively.

Experts agree that the use of the mask has been of great help during the coronavirus pandemic, as highlighted in the draft. The fact that the population has massively used face masks has made it possible to reduce the emission of aerosols and exposure to SARS-CoV-2. However, wearing it has disadvantages and “has also had some negative effects”, such as a reduced ability to communicate and maintain adequate interactions with other people.

In the educational field, the benefits of removing masks far outweigh the risks associated with increased transmission of the virus

The technicians now consider that thanks to the fact that the Spanish population has reached “high levels of immunity during the last pandemic wave” and that this has allowed “a drastic decrease in serious cases and lethality” to occur, the time has come to establish a change in the epidemiology of COVID-19.

“In the epidemiological and population immunity context, it seems appropriate to begin to reevaluate non-pharmacological measures to reduce transmission, while maintaining protection for vulnerable people and thus gradually recovering normality in those contexts in which it is estimated that the risk-benefit balance can justify it”, indicates the document.

Use of a mask by vulnerable people and in special situations

Adults over 60 years of age, all those who have immunosuppression (transplant patients, undergoing chemotherapy treatment, etc.), as well as pregnant women, are considered vulnerable, and where appropriate, the Presentation of Alerts, Preparedness and Response Plans recommends that they do not use the mask at home, but do so “in any situation in which they have prolonged contact with people at a distance of less than 1.5 meters.”

In the educational field, however, the technicians who have prepared the document consider that the benefits of removing the masks far outweigh the risks associated with an increase in the transmission of the virus, and therefore their advice is that students do not wear the mask, although they do recommend “the use of masks for teachers with vulnerability factors and according to specific recommendations within the framework of their work environment.”

In other areas, specifically in health care centers and socio-health centers, such as nursing homes, the document recommends “the mandatory use of a mask by workers and visitors, as well as by people admitted to health care centers when they are in shared spaces. out of your room.” It also considers that it should continue to be mandatory to wear a mask in means of transport, since in them “a large population is concentrated in small spaces, with little interpersonal distance, sometimes for long periods of time”.

In the work environment, it will be the companies that must make the decision regarding the use of masks in their facilities. “The Report on Alerts, Preparedness and Response Plans recommends that the need for the use of masks in the work environment be assessed by the occupational risk prevention services based on the results of a specific risk assessment. Its use is recommended whenever the work must be carried out at an interpersonal distance of less than 1.5 meters and adequate ventilation of the space cannot be guaranteed.