The Ministry of Health is to postpone the release of recommendations on the removal of masks outdoors. The forecast was to present a study before Christmas, but the omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid, made the folder change plans.
The decision to release the use of protection should only be taken in 2022, as there is still a need for more data on the impacts of the new strain, say government officials.
The publication of the study on the masks was a wish of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), but it was suspended to avoid criticism. The document would have symbolic force and would be a nod to the Pocket Narist base. Municipalities would not be required to follow the recommendation of the federal government.
On November 10, Minister Marcelo Queiroga (Health) said he would “work hard to have a maskless Christmas”.
The governor of São Paulo, João Doria (PSDB), is also reassessing the release of protective equipment. He asked the São Paulo government’s scientific committee for a new assessment of the need to use protection in open environments.
Last week, the toucan announced that they would no longer be mandatory from December 11, if the rates of cases, hospitalizations and deaths by Covid-19 continued to drop in São Paulo.
Even before the discovery of omicron, experts questioned initiatives to discourage the charge for masks.
The arrival of the variant put the Bolsonaro government on alert, but there is still strong resistance to adopting tougher restrictions, such as the so-called vaccine passport for those entering Brazil.
The São Paulo Health Department confirmed this Wednesday (1) the third case of the omicron variant in Brazil. There are still suspected cases under investigation in the Federal District, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.
The Bolsonaro government has vetoed the arrival of travelers from six African countries that have reported cases of the variant. Planalto is still considering expanding the list, at the request of Anvisa, to ten countries under restrictions.
On Friday (26), the Ministry of Health made an alert to health departments about the new form of the virus, potentially more transmissible. In the document, the folder commanded by Queiroga also reinforces precautionary measures.
Among them, the use of masks, in addition to social distancing, hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfection of environments and isolation of suspected and confirmed cases according to medical guidelines.
“These measures must be used in an integrated manner, in order to control the transmission of Covid-19 and its variants, also allowing the gradual resumption of activities carried out by the various sectors and the safe return of social interaction”, says the message.
as revealed to sheet, the government has ignored since November 12 Anvisa’s request to collect a vaccination certificate from anyone entering Brazil.
One of the barriers to charging for the vaccine passport is Bolsonaro’s denial speech. Since the beginning of the pandemic, it has distorted data and cast doubt on the effectiveness of social distancing, vaccines and masks.
The president has already been fined by the government of São Paulo and Maranhão for disrespecting the rule on wearing a mask, in addition to promoting crowding on trips to the states.
On June 10 of this year, Bolsonaro announced that Queiroga was preparing an opinion on releasing the use of masks. The loose rule would be for those who have already been vaccinated against Covid or have already been infected with the coronavirus, he said at the time.
The Health Minister, who defended the motto “homeland of masks” when entering the government, authorized his team to prepare the study.
Queiroga has been modulating his speech and investing in the pocketbook agenda to cling to the position. In an interview with Terça Livre, in August, a channel investigated for disseminating fake news, the minister said that he was against the mandatory use of masks.
In October, he compared mask and condom use. “Condoms reduce sexually transmitted diseases, but am I going to make a law to force people to use them? Imagine,” he said.
The Health Minister himself began to dispense with masks at events at the Planalto Palace.
as showed the sheet, the study on the masks was practically finished since October, but the government was still waiting for the best moment to launch it.
The idea was to recommend the removal of the mandatory use of masks based on rates of transmission, vaccination and demand for ICU beds (Intensive Care Unit).
Other countries have also reworked plans because of the variant. In England, for example, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for a return to the mandatory use of masks in stores and on public transport.
The 27 members of the European Union, the United States and a number of countries from different continents last week suspended flights departing from southern Africa.
Israel has already decided to ban all foreigners from entering, becoming the first country to close its borders. Then Japan took the same step.
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