HEALTHPLAN MAGAZINE

The days of wearing a face mask on public transport could soon be a thing of the past as the Ministry of Health and the Autonomous Communities meet this week to discuss the matter.

The topic will be discussed on Wednesday in the Interterritorial Health Council and again on Thursday in the Public Health Commission.

Spain has been exceptionally cautious throughout the entire Covid-19 pandemic, especially with the wearing of masks on public transport. But now, the Spanish government is coming under pressure to change this, as more than 20 other European countries, including Ireland, France and the Netherlands, have taken the step to scrap the wearing of face masks when travelling on buses, trains and planes.

At this time, the cumulative incidence rate in Spain in those over the age of 60 years, is 129 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and the forecast is that this will continue to fall. In the Balearic Islands, the rate is currently 81.55 cases per 100,000.

It should be pointed out that the Spanish Islands have already come out of the COVID alert and the WHO (World Health Organisation) predicts the end of the pandemic.

Fernando Simón, who is head of the Center for Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, has stated that "right now it does not seem very logical to use masks from a technical point of view.”

He also argues that there are many other areas where people congregate in masses, such as "concerts, bars or town parties" and hardly anyone wears a face mask.

Simón stated that in other countries this compulsion has already been lifted and the epidemiological indicators have not worsened.

Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy and Malta still, however, maintain the obligatory wearing of face masks on public transport.

Some communities including Madrid have demanded that at this Wednesday's meeting, a technical review for the withdrawal of wearing face masks be carried out "as soon as possible” and “especially on public transport.”

Although there are many experts who suggest that the face mask should no longer be compulsory on public transport, there are still some opposing voices. For example, Joan Carles March, who is a specialist in Public Health and Preventive Medicine, believes that it would be convenient to wait until after the autumn and winter months because of the respiratory diseases that are typical at this time of the year.

"I believe that public transport is a place with a high concentration of people in very small spaces and without adequate ventilation," he said.

In his view, removing face masks would particularly harm the most vulnerable people.

The issue of face masks was not on the agenda of the upcoming meeting, in which plans were to examine the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic and the monkeypox vaccination. However, once the topic was raised, several of the Spanish communities have expressed the need for a review.

Given this request, the Ministry has agreed to discuss the matter.

The public transport sector, represented by the Association of Urban and Metropolitan Public Transport (ATUC), has asked that the obligatory use of the face mask be abolished on the bus, metro, train and other means of collective transport, instead, they would like to see the measure moved to a “recommendation”.

Minister of Health, Carolina Darias (pictured), however, confirmed on Tuesday that “at this time there is no proposal from the Alerts Committee in this regard and as soon as it arrives, in the event that it arrives, we will be in a position to assess to take, as always, the best of measures and always hand in hand with the expert people.”

Sources

https://www.diariodesevilla.es/espana/Covid-19-Sanidad-debate-mascarilla-transporte-publico_0_1722429658.html
https://www.ultimahora.es/noticias/local/2022/09/20/1795151/coranavirus-espana-mascarilla-transporte-publico-podria-tener-dias-contados.html
https://spanishnewstoday.com/spanish_government_comes_under_pressure_to_scrap_masks_on_public_transport_1840917-a.html

Image Credit: La Moncloa Flickr