The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) determined, this Monday (3/4), that the use of face masks will no longer be mandatory for all people who are inside a Brazilian health unit. The decision was published in a technical note update that details the new rules for using the protector in hospitals and other sector services.
“Considering technical discussions on the subject, the drop in the number of cases and deaths caused by the disease in the country, in addition to the offer of vaccines against Covid-19 by the National Immunization Program (PNI) of the Ministry of Health, the Agency relaxed the recommendation of universal use of masks within health services”, points out the agency.
According to the publication, from now on, the people who should use face masks are:
- Patients with respiratory symptoms or with suspected Covid-19, as well as their companions;
- Positive patients for Covid-19 and their companions;
- Patients who had close contact with a confirmed case during the period of transmissibility of the disease, that is, in the last 10 days;
- Professionals who triage patients;
- Health service professionals, visitors and companions present in patient hospitalization areas, such as, for example, wards, rooms, intensive care units, urgency and emergency units, corridors of hospitalization areas, etc.;
- Situations in which there is an indication for the use of a face mask as personal protective equipment (PPE) for health professionals, in any area of the health service.
