Time to unmask. The Official State Gazette (BOE) published this Wednesday, April 20 eliminates the mandatory use of the mask indoors except in health centers, public and discretionary transport (taxi, VTC), pharmacies and residences (for workers and visitors). In the case of companies, the occupational risk prevention departments will decide whether or not their workers must continue to wear a mask in their facilities.
The new decree approved yesterday by the Council of Ministers does not mention the use of face masks in people infected with COVID-19. To know the indications of the authorities in these cases, consult the latest update of the Surveillance and Control Strategy against COVID of the Ministry of Health.
Mandatory masks for positives for ten days
“Confirmed cases should take extreme precautions and reduce social interactions as much as possible. constantly wearing the mask and maintaining adequate hand hygiene for 10 days after the onset of symptoms or diagnosis in the case of asymptomatic people, ”says the report. Infected people will carry “constantly” the mask for the first ten days after symptoms appeared. The Minister of Health herself, Carolina Darias, confirmed on March 29 that those who “present symptoms” must continue “wearing the mask” and asked the population to act with “prudence”.
If you have mild symptoms and do not meet the criteria to undergo a diagnostic test, people “should exercise extreme caution and reduce social interactions as much as possible constantly using the mask and maintaining adequate hand hygiene during the 10 days after the onset of symptoms”. The same happens with those who do meet the criteria to take a test, who must use the mask “constantly” until you get a result.
The criteria to be able to undergo a COVID test are as follows. According to the Strategy, if a person fulfills only one of them, an Active Infection Diagnostic Test (PDIA) can be carried out:
Criteria to be able to take a PDIA test
- Have vulnerability criteriaAge: 60 years or older, immunocompromised due to intrinsic or extrinsic causes, and pregnant.
- People related to vulnerable areas: People who reside, attend, are hospitalized or work in vulnerable areas (health care centers, socio-health centers and day centers, penitentiary centers and other centers with institutionalized people), as well as workers who provide support and care to vulnerable people.
- Present a picture of acute respiratory infection of lower tract requiring hospital admission (preferably diagnosed by PCR).
- That there be proof of has been in the last 14 days in a region where a variant of interest or concern is circulating that has not shown community circulation in our territory and groups of migrant population of recent arrival in Spain
Since the last update of the COVID Strategy, in force since March 28, the reported infections only correspond to people who meet the above criteria, that is, vulnerable or related to vulnerable areasso the monitoring indicators refer only to these groups of people and in no case to the total number of COVID-19 infections. For this reason, since March 28, comparing the new epidemiological data with those of other waves does not make much sense.