With increasing talk of a possible end to the wearing of masks outdoors, preventive medicine expert Joan Carles March is one who is calling for caution. He says that where the compulsory wearing of masks outdoors has been abandoned, there has been a higher rate of vaccination than in the Balearics; Israel is a prime example. "Ideally, 50 to 60 per cent of the population should have been vaccinated twice." In the Balearics, the figure at present is 29%.
March argues that there needs to be greater immunisation through two doses because of variants of concern. He also believes that there should be a 14-day cumulative incidence in Spain as a whole of fifty or lower - the national figure (as of June 15) is 101.39.
Stressing the need for caution, March adds that "we have to see what happens in the UK". "If tourists arrive in the Balearics from a country with such a high percentage of the Indian variant, not wearing a mask outdoors will be a risk. Remember last July, when everything started to go against us. The same won't happen again because the vaccination percentage is increasing day by day and the mortality rate has dropped very significantly, but we cannot throw away all that has been done."
Initially, he advocates, masks could be dispensed with when someone is on his or her own, with family or at a distance.
For his part, the director of the Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies, Fernando Simón, has said that there could soon be a situation where it will be appropriate not to wear masks outdoors. He hasn't offered a date but has referred to the increase in the vaccination rate, to the decreases in the numbers of cases and hospitalisations, and also to the heat of summer.
* It would appear that the national public health commission did not consider, as had been expected, an ending to the compulsory wearing of masks outdoors at its meeting in Tuesday.
3 comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Wearing a mask when there is no one else about? well the concept has always been stupid. In enclosed spaces, markets etc, seems reasonable even if not proven, but the real problem is touching, this seems to have dropped off the agenda, why? Unless the whole problem now is lack of vaccination and political.
the power struggle continues... they just want to hold as long as they can so not to lose their grip of power on the submissive population. Let us get some facts right.. straight from the horses mouth... masks have always been intended for the infected to wear them so not to infect or pass on any possible germs not every single individual and ask any doctor this... they use them so not to allow droplets while carrying out surgery or examinations... take back power
Maybe if we don't want to wear these masks we could instead walk around the city with a cigarrete hanging out of our mouths - seemingly, this makes people exempt?