Justice suspends decree that exempts children from wearing a mask against Covid in RS

As a preliminary injunction, Justice suspended this Saturday (5th) a decree from the government of Rio Grande do Sul that exempted children under 12 from wearing masks against Covid-19.

The decision, signed by Judge Silvia Muradas Fiori, of the 4th Court of the Public Treasury of the Foro Central de Porto Alegre, responds to a request from the Mothers and Fathers Association for Democracy, which defends the mandatory protection item.

The decree of the Eduardo Leite government (PSDB) had been published on February 26. On the occasion, Palácio Piratini also announced that the use of masks for children aged 6 to 11 would become a recommended protocol, not mandatory.

Until then, the state followed the guidelines provided for in Federal Law 13,979, of February 6, 2020. When announcing the decree, the Rio Grande do Sul government cited a technical opinion from the Cevs (State Center for Health Surveillance), linked to the State Department of Health , which contests points of the federal rule.

“Although there is federal legislation that advocates mandatory use for people over three years old, considering the long period in which there is no update of the legislation, considering that in the last 24 months there has not been robust evidence proving the benefit of mandatory use of masks in some age groups, […] it is concluded that there is no technical basis that supports the mandatory use of masks indiscriminately in the age group from three years to 11 years”, indicated the opinion at the time.

With the suspension of the decree this Saturday, the previous norm in the state goes back into effect. The Mothers and Fathers for Democracy Association celebrated the court decision. On social media, the entity classified the suspension as a “victory of common sense”.

“As national law requires the use of an individual protection mask in the situations it regulates, dispensing only ‘in the case of people with autism spectrum disorder, with intellectual disabilities, with sensory disabilities or with any other disabilities that prevent them from using protective mask’, the States do not have the normative competence to allow the use of the equipment for people who were not exempted in the national norm”, points out the decision signed by judge Silvia Muradas Fiori.

In a note, the government of Rio Grande do Sul stated that the State Attorney General’s Office is analyzing the injunction and “the best legal alternative to be adopted”.
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