Masks will not be compulsory in hospitals, pharmacies and retirement homes until February 8.

The website Masks will no longer be required next week, from February 7, also in the European Union.healthcare establishments such as optical and orthopedic stores.as well as on public transportbut you still have to put them health care and social service establishments and pharmacies. In countries such as Germany, the use of face masks on public transport is no longer mandatory today, of the obligation to volunteering and the individual responsibility of each citizen.

This is what the Minister of Health conveyed to ministers, Carolina Darias, during the meeting of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System, which is being held this Thursday and during which she explains the details of the royal decree that she will present to the Council of Ministers next Tuesday. In addition, Darias reported on the results of the water use survey. checks carried out by foreign health services on travelers arriving on direct flights from the People’s Republic of China. A total of 1,765 travelers and three people tested positive for covid-19.

Tuesday, at the Council of Ministers

However, it will be necessary to continue to wear masks in health centres, hospitals, nursing homes and other health and social care establishments.whether workers or visitorsas well as in pharmacies.

The amendment to the regulations which will be approved by the government next Tuesday will come into force when it is published in the BOE, which is expected to be at the end of the year. the next day.

Farewell to three years of pandemic

Farewell to the compulsory wearing of a face mask in public transport, it is in a way to put an end to a pandemic which is now three years old. This measurement is a state jurisdiction, so that the autonomous regions can neither impose nor withdraw its obligatory character.

The “ex-conseller” of health in Catalonia Josep Maria Argimon I had already questioned on several occasions the obligatory nature of this rule which, especially in the metro and the bus in cities like Barcelona, ​​few people respect. “We have a decree that forces you to do something that is not done”, the “conseller” went so far as to say. Catalonia has always been in favor of it being a recommendation and not an obligation.

As part of the covid-19 scientific advisory board of Catalonia the general feeling is that “it makes no sense” to maintain this standard if the same is not done on other points. where there are settlements, as this newspaper reported at the time. The truth is that there is no single position on the issue: while some think it is it’s better than nothing, others believe that the effect of the mask on public transport is currently minimal. Other voices speak out in favor of its withdrawal when cold weather arrives.

Criticism of epidemiologists

However, experts such as Joan Cayla, member of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology (SEE), warned last week in this newspaper against this decision. “There is a lot of interest in removing it at least… obligatory. It would be necessary that, through a a good communication strategy, people understand that there is still a lot of transmission. Whether it is mandatory or not, people should have… the responsibility of bringing it to certain places, says Caylà, who recommends using it indoors.

In the opinion of Caylà, shared by a greater number of specialists, “It’s not the best time because we’re in flu season.” In addition, the epidemiologist also regrets that society “normalizes” the number of covid deaths. (a deadlier disease than the flu), which remains very high. And he recalls that the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to recommend that the masks are useful to protect against this virus and other respiratory viruses.