Amid the rise in Covid cases in the country, the governor of São Paulo, Rodrigo Garcia (PSDB), said that there was no recommendation from the scientific committee for the mandatory return of the use of masks.
The committee meets once a week to assess the stage of the disease in the state and, from there, suggests some measures to the governor. The next meeting will be on Wednesday (16th), and Rodrigo said, this Sunday (13th), that he awaits guidance from the committee before taking any decision.
“They are creating a problem where none exists. The scientific committee has autonomy, it has not yet made any different recommendations. If the evidence shows the need for some restriction, it is good,” Rodrigo told Sheetduring the São Paulo F1 GP.
The governor’s statement clashes with the warning signal given by infectious disease specialist and secretary of Science, Research and Development in Health, David Uip, in an interview published by Sheet on Friday (11). The scientific committee, by the way, is incorporated into the secretariat that Uip commands.
The obligation will only be possible after a decree of the governor.
“The Secretariat of Science, Research and Development in Health has released a warning note [na quinta, 10] informing the increase in the number of cases and recommending the return of the use of masks in public transport, in places with agglomeration and, fundamentally, in vulnerable populations, such as people with comorbidities and the elderly”, said Uip, on the occasion.
Brazil recorded this Saturday (12) a 74% increase in the moving average of new cases.
THE Sheet had already anticipated a rise in Covid cases in the state at the end of October and beginning of November, although the number of deaths is still lower than that observed in other waves.
With the new wave, doctors such as Rosana Richtmann, from the Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas, and oncologist Drauzio Varella have positioned themselves in favor of the use of masks. Universities such as USP and Unicamp have resumed the use of the mask in closed environments.
The use of a mask was no longer mandatory in March, after a decree signed by the then governor João Doria. Currently, the use has a recommendation character, being necessary in the state of São Paulo only in health services, such as clinics and hospitals.
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