“The situation becomes the same as it was before the crisis decree and, therefore, the one prior to the year 2020”
MADRID, 4 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Council of Ministers has approved this Tuesday the Royal Decree that ends the health crisis caused by Covid-19 in Spain and, therefore, the mandatory use of masks in health centers, hospitals, pharmacies and social health centers, according to announced at a press conference the Minister of Health, José Miñones.
“The Coordination Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies, in a consensual manner and with the presentation of alerts through the experts that make up the same from each of the CCAAs, considered that the Covid-19 has been controlled and, although the disease It is still present, it no longer represents a situation of health crisis”, pointed out Miñones, who has clarified that its entry into force will be effective the same day of its publication in the BOE.
The minister recalled that the epidemiological situation, since November 2022, shows “a decreasing trend” in regards to deaths and hospitalizations due to SARS-CoV-2. This, together with the fact that the Ómicron variant is less virulent, the high vaccination rate of the Spanish population (93%) and the natural infection rate of the Spanish population, lead to the conclusion that “this disease is no longer a health crisis situation in Spain”, he insisted.
Thus, Miñones has clarified that “the situation becomes the same as it was before the crisis decree and, therefore, the one prior to the year 2020”. Therefore, “today in the Council of Ministers on July 3, we have agreed, three years after the start of the pandemic, to put an end to the health crisis caused by COVID-19, thus we have adopted that, in addition, all the extraordinary measures that would have been agreed upon linked to this health crisis and with special attention, as highly expected, that of the mandatory nature of the mask where they were kept,” he added.
“We believe that today we are taking a very important step, that today we are closing an episode caused by the pandemic that has certainly wreaked havoc throughout the world, leaving millions of infections and of course thousands of deaths. And today we must, as I say, look back with lessons learned, he has pointed out.
MASKS: “HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THEIR USE BUT NOT MANDATORY”
Regarding the end of the mandatory nature of masks, he recalled that the advice of experts affects the need for “a culture of responsibility”.
Although the crisis has ended, he added that “its use is still highly recommended but not mandatory”. “We also believe that it is important to maintain the culture of responsibility that we have acquired over the years. I think it is very important looking back to have learned from all this.”
“The recommendations focus on health centers, on the need to reinforce the use of the mask in certain contexts and always for those people who are symptomatic in shared spaces, such as in the common rooms of hospital centers, but also in the case of professionals”, he pointed out.
Likewise, it will be recommended that health professionals carry it when they are dealing with symptomatic cases or with patients admitted to the ICU. “In units of patients who are vulnerable, the use of the mask is recommended, as in the case of anyone who has symptoms,” the minister stressed.
At this point, Miñones has recalled the importance of vaccines to have been able to approve the aforementioned decree, and has criticized that there are “anti-vaccines” in the institutions. “Despite the fact that we never believed that we could be in a situation like the one we are in, we have anti-vaccination at the forefront of the administrations. Therefore, I believe that our message has to be clear: vaccines save lives”, the minister has sentenced .
In line, he highlighted the presence of the Hipra vaccine, “another of the great advances” of recent years, since it allows “facing the future with greater security in the face of any adversity or crisis situation.”
Lastly, he recalled that, from September to October, a new vaccination campaign for those over 60 against Covid-19 will begin in Spain, which will include the Spanish vaccine, also for health professionals.
2023-07-04 12:40:58
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