Scientific committee again recommends the use of masks in closed places in SP

The São Paulo government’s Covid-19 Contingency Committee recommended the return of the use of masks in closed places across the state in view of the growing trend in cases in recent weeks.

The matter was the subject of a meeting between members of the committee and Governor Rodrigo Garcia (PSDB), at Palácio dos Bandeirantes, on Tuesday afternoon (31).

“The Secretariat of Science, Research and Development in Health, through the Scientific Committee of the State of São Paulo, recommended the return of the use of masks in closed establishments without a mandatory nature, without modifying the legislation in force in São Paulo of use only in hospital environments and in the collective transport,” the government said in a statement.

Data from the SP Covid-19 Info Tracker platform, created by researchers from USP and Unesp with support from Fapesp to monitor the evolution of the pandemic, show that the moving average of new hospitalizations (ICU and ward) increased by 74% in the state of São Paulo in three weeks. The 6th and 27th of May were compared, when the averages reached 176 and 306, respectively.

According to the Mônica Bergamo column, the number of reported cases of Covid-19 in the state of São Paulo almost doubled from one week to the next, according to official data analyzed by the scientific committee. The daily average of new infections last week reached 4,830, up from 2,622 the week before, a jump of 84.2%.

This Monday (30), Brazil recorded the highest moving average of Covid cases since the end of March, 24,993 infections per day, an increase of 31% compared to the data of two weeks ago.

It is the highest value since March 31, when the average was 25,910 daily cases.

The end of the mandatory use of masks in closed places was decreed by former governor João Doria (PSDB) on March 17 in reaction to the cooling of the pandemic in the state.