Controversy over the optional mask in La Plata: the Kicillof government assured that the measure is irresponsible

The announcement made by the mayor of La Plata, Julio Garro, to stop using the mask on a mandatory basis and to make it optional in collectives, shops and public buildings of the local administration generated a strong rejection by the government of the province of Buenos Aires and opened a crack on the use of the mask. From the portfolio managed by Minister Nicolás Kreplak, they branded the measure of the community head of the PRO as “irresponsible” and assured that the decision was taken “without any scientific and health knowledge”.

Garro reported this Friday that from next week the use of the mask will no longer be mandatory for public transport, shops and municipal offices in the capital of Buenos Aires and that masks will be optional for “the circulation, provision of services and any public or private activity that takes place in the Party of La Plata”. The government of Axel Kicillof quickly came out to criticize this measure, also recalling that “in Buenos Aires the primary competence in health is Provincial, through the health portfolio”.

This morning, the mayor of La Plata announced, through his social networks, that by decree “as of Monday, the use of masks in public spaces, municipal offices and means of transport in La Plata will become optional. Also in shops, with the owners who arrange for its implementation.”

In that message, the mayor of Platense also urged the government of the province of Buenos Aires to review “the compulsory use of masks, especially in schools”. “We see in different political, institutional and sporting events the absence of masks, but children are still forced to wear them,” he said.

But Kreplak himself rejected this possibility in the short term. This Friday, the Buenos Aires Minister of Health spoke with Radio Provincia and said that “it is time to be cautious and observe”, since - although the cases are controlled - “in some parts of the world we are seeing new waves”.

“We have ahead of us the onset of low temperatures, which is the time for more respiratory diseases, so it's time to be cautious and watch. That is why the Board of Education and Health has defined the compulsory nature of wearing a mask and not only that, but also good quality ventilation in classrooms. With that and with vaccination, we are in a situation that after starting classes, cases continue to fall. At the moment it is mandatory - the use of a mask - and it is the best we can do to take care of the children,” said the Buenos Aires minister. This is the current protocol “Aula Segura”.

But, in addition to Garro, other opposition mayors also called for the province's schools to stop wearing a mask. The community chief of Pinamar, Martín Yeza, was one of them. “At this point wearing masks compulsory is ridiculous,” posted the mayor of the tourist municipality.

“With the beginning of the school year, in the province of Mendoza, the use of a mask in the classroom became optional. Given the reduced need to use the mask for health reasons, it is important to meet the pedagogical needs in this age group, understanding that in this new health context, this measure will have a positive effect on teaching, learning and, above all, communication tasks”, the Mendoza government stressed when it was announced the end of the compulsory use of the mask in schools.

Behind this request, and which was also what convinced Garro, is the group Organized Parents who ask that children be freed from wearing masks when today adults use them in very few spaces. One of the reasons they provide is that the mask hinders the primary literacy of children, who need to see the gestures of their teachers and classmates. But they also highlight the little evidence that there is about the effectiveness of masks in minors.

However, from the Buenos Aires government, they say “the use of masks in closed spaces or in conglomerates of people shows that it prevents contagion”. Finally, regarding the decision of the municipality of La Plata, the Buenos Aires health portfolio assured that “this type of unilateral definitions without arguments all it does is threaten the health of citizens”, and that “the decision has no reason whatsoever at this time”.

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