Authorities announce mandatory use of masks on public transport in São Paulo against COVID-19

The Brazilian city of São Paulo, the largest city in South America with 12 million inhabitants, decided to make the use of masks mandatory again in public transport to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it was officially announced on Thursday.

The measure is also recommended by the government of the state of São Paulo, whose capital is the city of the same name, for the rest of the municipalities as a result of the increase in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.

The state of São Paulo, the most populated in the country with 46 million inhabitants, is the hardest hit by the pandemic in Brazil, the second country in deaths after the United States and the third in infections after the United States and India

The measure will affect public transport such as buses, subways, and commuter trains from Saturday.

Read here why there is no case for mask mandates and why they are even widely considered harmful.

Do you want to know what science says about masks and mask mandates? Click here.

“The State Government and the São Paulo City Hall decided to resume the mandatory use of masks in public transport from this Saturday, after a technical analysis of the Management Council of the State Secretariat of Science, Research and Development in Health against the advance of cases of COVID-19,” said an official statement.

The State Government recommended that the measures be adopted by all municipalities and called on the population to complete the vaccination cycle.

The mask ceased to be mandatory in public transport on Sep. 9.

The Board of Directors of the State Secretariat of Science, Research and Development in Health of São Paulo warned of a “significant increase in the transmission of Sars-Cov-2, which is mainly reflected in the indicators of hospitalizations for COVID-19 in infirmaries and intensive care.

It is said to have shown in the last 14 days a growth of 156 percent and 97.5 percent, respectively, reaching a daily average of more than 400 new admissions.”

The rate of increase in hospitalizations “is accentuated and is beginning to put pressure on the public and private healthcare systems,” the advisory board physicians indicated.

Several subvariants of the omicron variant are currently circulating, with a predominance of the BA.5 subvariant and progressive growth of cases related to the BQ.1 subvariant.

The use of face masks will be mandatory again on Friday, Nov. 25, in airports and airplanes in Brazil, as determined by the National Health Agency (Anvisa, regulatory body).

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error