Medical College criticizes government measure to eliminate mandatory use of masks

At the press conference of the Council of Ministers, it was reported that the use of masks in open spaces in Peru would not be mandatory in regions that have 80% of their population with all three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The dean of the Medical College of Peru (CMP), Raúl Urquizo, considered that the measure was wrong, since no city meets that requirement.

Urquizo explained that in the country we would barely be in 50% of the population with the third dose and measures like this are giving the wrong message to the population of false security.

“We recommend (the optional use of masks) as long as there are departments where there are 80% with two doses and 60% with third doses, with monitoring and surveillance, although we cannot be in permanent opposition with the Government. In other countries they have made progress because the level of responsibility of the population is much higher,” he explained.

In this context, the dean indicated that only Metropolitan Lima, Lima Provinces, Callao, Áncash, Ica and a few other regions had this mandatory minimum rate to eliminate the use of the mask.

He also explained that the CMP informed Minister Jorge López of his position.

“The minister came to the medical school with his technical team. He gave us information on the state of the pandemic, vaccines, etc. This is the second meeting we are having with the minister. One of the topics was precisely the masks . It has been shown that in the Minsa tables few departments have passed more than 80% immunized with second doses and between 50% and 60% of third doses”, said Urquizo.

OMBUDSMAN'S OFFICE AGAINST THIS MEASURE

The Office of the Ombudsman has also been against the elimination of the compulsory use of the mask, assuring that as a precaution one should continue to do the maximum effort to avoid contagion.

“The precariousness of health services and others, such as education, requires us to prioritize care and prudence to deal with COVID-19. The Government must avoid decisions that motivate the neglect of citizens in the face of a pandemic that continues to cause damage,” said the entity.

They also reported the large gap that exists between vaccines and to immunize millions of people with the first, second and third doses. “Insufficient immunization requires the use of masks to strengthen the protection of the population and public health,” he said.

SINCE WHEN WILL YOU STOP WEARING MASKS?

Initially, during the Council of Ministers, the president of the Council of Ministers, Aníbal Torres, was consulted on when the measure of leaving the use of masks in open spaces would take effect. To this, he replied that it would enter into force when the norm was promulgated in the newspaper El Peruano.

“On the optional use of masks, if the decree is published, it will take effect on the day after the regulation is published, because all regulations come into force the day after its publication,” said Torres.

However, it was later announced that the measure would take effect only on May 1, 2022.

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