São Paulo will keep the mandatory mask use until January 31st
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – São Paulo State’s Health Secretary, Jean Gorinchteyn, said on Monday, December 20th, that the use of masks will be mandatory until at least January 31st in the state.
“Governor João Doria signs a decree today extending the mandatory use of masks to all environments until January 31st of next year,” he spoke in an interview with GloboNews.
The government of São Paulo was considering making the use of masks more flexible starting December 11th, the date on which it would have reached four indicators stipulated by the Scientific Committee.
However, the arrival of the Omicron variant in Brazil made the government discard the change, and masks remain mandatory.
São Paulo was the first state in the country to register cases of the new variant, which is more contagious. In São Paulo, the community transmission of Omicron has already been confirmed, that is, cases in which it is no longer possible to trace the origin.
With information from Metrópoles
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
Living in or visiting São Paulo? See this month's events and our São Paulo city guide with rents, safety and upcoming concerts.