Brazil Reinstates Compulsory Use of Masks in Airports and Planes

The collegiate board of Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) approved, at the end of this Tuesday night (22), the return of the mandatory use of masks on airplanes and at airports in Brazil. The measure takes effect from next Friday (25). Protection against Covid-19 was no longer required in these environments since August of this year when the use became just a recommendation. Social distancing is also no longer mandatory. The subject was a last-minute addition to the agency's extraordinary meeting's agenda, called to discuss the approval of two bivalent Pfizer vaccines against the coronavirus. Surveys such as that of the InfoGripe bulletin, released this Friday (18) by Fiocruz, point to the increase in cases of Covid-19 in the country, mainly among adults. The Ministry of Health released a technical note last month recommending the use of masks in Brazil after a new rise in cases of Covid-19.