Mascherine, what happens from May 1st? The most important decision, going to school, would have been made, even if we have to wait a few more days for it to become official. Wins the precautionary measure regarding the obligation to wear a surgical procedure in class. Minister Patrizio Bianchi and Health Minister Roberto Speranza are geared to not changing anything from May 1, when the school year is a little over a month away. The most recent government decree paved the way: “By the end of the school year, it is compulsory to wear breathing apparatus in schools (…).” If there are expected to be no masks indoors in offices, cinemas, shops from May 1st, school will be last on the list. But let’s go in order.
Masks in school until June?
It’s different abroad. Great Britain, Ireland, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, France and Germany have already said goodbye to masks in the classroom. Secretary of State for Health Andrea Costa had sent various messages: “You can take them off at school, especially during class because we have children at a considerable distance”. Massimo Clementi, director of the Laboratory of Microbiology and Virology at San Raffaele in Milan, thinks so: “I would rather keep them on public transport than at school, where there is distance and adequate ventilation.”
The leaders of the National Association of Principals are more cautious: “It is still too early for a scenario without masks, says Cristina Costarelli from Rome. President Antonello Giannelli sends the decision back to the health authorities, but explains: “We would rather keep the masks in class for a month and a half longer than not suffer worse consequences.”
The paradox of masks in school
There are paradoxes, because imposing the mask on children over 6 years old means that in the same class there can be children who wear them and others who do not wear them because they are under 6 years old. From April 1st, preschool children from the age of six must also wear a surgical mask. That is what it says in the decree of March 24, which was last issued by the Draghi government. In fact, Article 9(5) states: “Until the end of the 2021/2022 school year, the following safety measures will continue to apply in the establishments and schools referred to in this article, as well as in the Higher Technical Colleges: a ) It is mandatory to use protective devices for the respiratory tract of a surgical type or with greater protection, with the exception of children up to six years of age, for persons with diseases or disabilities incompatible with the use of the above devices and for the practice of sporting activities.
In a class group, some children will be forced to wear the mask, a small proportion considering that there are few (but there are) those who turn 6 in the last year of kindergarten, while others do not have to wear them. Strange that the news comes at the end of the health emergency: so far, the obligation only affected students from elementary school upwards. Various regions (e.g. Lazio) are issuing circulars that exempt all pupils in kindergartens from the obligation to wear masks in the regional area, regardless of the age of 6 years or below.
Inside masks what happens after April 30th
Indoors, they are mandatory until April 30. It is possible but not assured that they will no longer be mandatory indoors from May 1st. It will be on view in the second half of April. Meanwhile, until Labor Day weekend, the FFP2 will remain mandatory in the most vulnerable locations: they must be worn on the plane, ship, train (not the regional ones, where surgical or other will suffice), buses, subways, carriages , cable cars, cable cars and chairlift covers. The surgical mask is sufficient at school, in bars and restaurants. At work, you only need a mask if you can’t keep your colleagues’ distance meter. No masks for children under the age of six, the infirm, carers of the disabled. No mask when dancing in the disco or doing sports.
But what will happen on the face masks from May 1st, in everyday life? Is a free all in sight? Difficult.
The plans circulating at the Ministry of Health and Palazzo Chigi seem to contain different nuances. It would be wrong to call them divergences because the debate hasn’t touched the heart, the CTS no longer exists after the end of the state of emergency and because the decision will probably not be made until after Easter. Minister Roberto Speranza would be in favor of keeping the devices indoors, while Palazzo Chigi would like to send a new and definitive message of returning to normality.
The data shows that Omicron’s high contagiousness, even more contagious in its second version, makes it virtually impossible to contain the virus. Coexistence with the virus is inevitable because Sarscov2 will probably never go away. Immediately after Easter, probably on April 20th, a decision is to be made on an extension of the mask requirement indoors, which would expire ten days later. According to a study by the American CDCs, using the FFP2 mask indoors reduces the possibility of contagion by 83%, with operations by 66% and with tissue by 56%. Better than nothing. Instead, the Secretary of State for Health, Andrea Costa, says that “the conditions are in place to lift the obligation from May 1st”.
Until Labor Day weekend, everything stays as it is: the FFP2 (nonsurgical or fabric, so) are always mandatory in the most vulnerable places: they must be worn on the plane, ship, train (not in the regional ones, where surgical or other sufficient ), buses, metro, coaches, cable cars, cable cars and covered chairlifts. The surgical mask is sufficient at school, in bars and restaurants. At work, you only need a mask if you can’t keep your colleagues’ distance meter. No masks for children under the age of six, the infirm, carers of the disabled. No mask when dancing in the disco or doing sports.
It is possible that from May 1st they will no longer be mandatory in many interiors, hardly all. Presumably, those conducting their business in stores open to the public will still have to wear the mask after April 30. For example, cashiers in supermarkets, sellers, and also for employees in public offices where services are provided to citizens. It is unclear whether the obligation will extend to customers of these services and activities. There are also other areas where it is very likely that the mask requirement will remain in place: public transport, cinemas, theatres, concerts. However, the surgical mask might suffice, and no longer the ffp2. Elsewhere there may be simple recommendations, particularly where there is a risk of indoor crowding. In the case of private workplaces, the employer decides.
Galli and Viola: “Use the FFP2”
“The pandemic “in Italy is not over yet. Being able to stay away from SarsCov2 is an excellent thing, both for the elderly and infirm who are still at risk, but also for the young who may be a long time coming from Covid. One tool to stay away imperfect but important is the mask”. And in particular the FFP2. As with Adnkronos Salute Massimo Galli, former Director of Infectious Diseases at Sacco Hospital in Milan, specifically “I would be careful not to abolish it on public transport at this point. Indeed, by lifting this measure, we will be putting many infirm people in a condition of putting themselves at risk using public transport”.
“The surgical mask recalls Galli protects the people we meet from our virus emissions. But for protection that significantly reduces the risk of contagion, we have to use the FFP2,” Galli continues, giving an example: “The helmet for motorcyclists is a protective tool in the event of a fall. The FFP2 is an individual one in the same way Protection tool that limits the possibility of contagion, although unfortunately we know that it does not work 100%, as is not the case with a helmet that lasts in the event of a very serious accident. But we won’t throw it away for that. Nor can you hang the mask on a nail.
“Nobody should put the masks down and when I say nobody I’m also referring to those who had the disease a few months ago and believe they can remove them if they feel immune. Nothing could be more wrong. They have to protect yourself indoors, the Ffp2 is also effective against omicron.We see that more and more contagious variants are appearing and even vaccinated people risk being infected.So Antonella Viola, immunologist, scientific director of the Pediatric Research Institute Città della Speranza in Padua.For Viola worth it It is therefore “a small sacrifice to cover your nose and mouth when entering closed places. Getting sick with Covid, even for those who have had the threedose vaccine, is not a painless experience. It can have unpleasant consequences.”
Source Today.it