Countries are starting to make the use of masks more flexible. Is it time now?

With Covid-19 cases declining after the wave caused by the micron variant, some countries are already working on making it easier to use masks. In the United States, for example, some federal units no longer charge a fee for the use of the protection element in open environments. In the UK, it is no longer necessary to wear a mask on public transport, in schools or in shops, for example.

Although the news looks encouraging, given that the international epidemic scenario tends to repeat itself in Brazil with a few weeks of delay, Abrasco’s deputy head of epidemiology, Claudio Mairowicz, says other countries’ decision is hasty.

“I don’t understand why the rush. This attitude of making it more resilient once it gets a little better is one of the reasons for the ups and downs we’ve been seeing since the beginning of the pandemic. It’s not just a curve, it’s people who get sick and die,” he says.

The specialist knows that masks, being a cheap, easy-to-use tool without contraindications, should be one of the last measures to be disposed of in the fight against the epidemic.

Brazilian script

Here, Mairowicz warns that the pandemic situation is still far from resting and defends that the flexibility of masks isn’t happening any time soon. According to him, while the country is still recording around 100,000 cases per day and more than 600 deaths every 24 hours due to Covid-19, this is not the time to not worry.

“People are left with the picture of the large number we had, when 4,000 people died per day, and when the number is less then all is well. It is not, what matters is the total: even if we do not reach the limit, if We stayed at an average level for several days, the result is the same,” he explains.

He points out that the ideal situation would be for the decline in cases after the peak to be rapid – unlike in Brazil. Speeding up vaccination for those who have not yet taken the first dose, looking for those who should repeat the second and third application, continuing to avoid clumps and betting on quality masks is essential to controlling transmission of the virus.

Although it is not necessary to wear a mask outdoors when there are a few people around, the item should be kept to prevent people from creating quick exceptions when entering enclosed spaces, or crowding together, as this allows infection.

“The one in the park, without mask, stops at the kiosk to get ice cream, and there are already a lot of people together. Then he stops at the pharmacy and gets in quickly without the mask, because without it already. What was meant to be only for open and remote environments ends up being General rule,” says the doctor.

“You can only talk about the end of masks when the epidemic passes,” concludes Mairowicz.