OMT: surgical mouth caps also in busy street, in the lecture hall and during demonstrations

That’s in a Advice from the outbreak management team published on Monday, which the cabinet will consider this week. As far as the OMT is concerned, the colorful fabric mouth caps from clothing stores and department stores are over: surgical mouth caps must become the norm, the expert group writes in its new advice.

The blue doctor’s masks should become the norm for everyone from the age of 13, in all places where distance cannot be kept, the experts write. What’s also new is that the mouth-nose mask must also remain on when people sit somewhere where it is busy. They are only allowed off when eating or drinking.

The face masks must also stay up at lectures in higher education – HBO and university. At secondary school, the caps are allowed to take off in the classroom, according to the experts. ‘Otherwise, students who, unlike students, don’t sit somewhere alone or go outside for a long time, would have to wear a face mask almost all day long. That is asking a lot,’ says professor of infection prevention and OMT member Andreas Voss when asked.

Demonstrations

Outside, the OMT recommends mouth caps wherever it is not possible to keep a sufficient distance. In addition to busy shopping streets, the OMT also considers sporting events and demonstrations. The latter in particular can have pretty complicated consequences: from now on, corona protesters should only be allowed to demonstrate with an official mouth cap on.

The more intimate embrace of the mouth caps is striking. Especially at the beginning of the pandemic, the OMT felt very little in favor of a mask obligation, much to the dismay of people who want to do everything possible to fight the virus.

But with the emergence of the omikron variant, additional measures are needed, says medical microbiologist and OMT member Jan Kluytmans. ‘This variant is so contagious that you have to do something on top of the other measures to prevent the spread. And face masks are one of the options for further reducing transmission.’

‘We are really in a completely different phase than two years ago’, emphasizes Voss. ‘The virus is different, the prevalence is different, and the behavior of people on the street is different. People often end up in situations where they are less able to keep their distance than in the beginning, when corona was new.’

Disposable Masks

The fact that the OMT is only now recommending official medical masks has also to do with this. ‘Some cloth masks are almost as good as surgical face masks, some are not at all,’ says Voss. “So far we have found it disproportionate to recommend surgical masks. A disposable mask costs about 15 cents each. For a family with children, that would quickly add up to tens of euros per month.’

Meanwhile, the scientists feel little in favor of the introduction of ‘FFP2 masks’, the white mouth caps that close even more tightly and that are advocated by people who want to combat the virus even more drastically. But FFP2 caps have drawbacks, the expert team notes: with prolonged use, you can get headaches and become stuffy, tired and short of breath.

“There is a good chance that the mask will be removed more quickly if the wearing comfort is not so good,” according to the OMT. “Consistent with WHO advice, a well-worn surgical medical mask is therefore likely to be more effective with prolonged use.” The OMT does recommend the FFP2 mask for vulnerable people who end up in risky situations, such as poorly ventilated indoor areas where people sing and shout and cannot keep their distance.

clarity

The cabinet had asked the OMT for more clarity, after various other countries tightened the mouth cap rules. The experts emphasize that mouth caps are ’emphatically not a replacement’ for other rules, such as staying at home and testing in the event of complaints, coughing in the elbow and keeping your distance.

Around the holidays, RIVM saw the share of omikron variant in the test streets rise rapidly, the fastest in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The OMT suspects that the more contagious, but less sickening variant will now cause just about all infections in our country. Because the variant is so contagious and bypasses the defense against corona, it also reaches more vulnerable people who can end up in hospital with it. For this reason, France, the United Kingdom and the US, among others, are experiencing a sharp peak in hospitals.