The mandatory use of masks outdoors ceases from today with a strong recommendation from the Ministry of Health's expert committee to remain in crowded outdoor areas, as well as in people with risk factors for serious disease and unvaccinated people.
The removal of the mandatory use of the mask outdoors should not be translated that we are reaching the end of the pandemic, the virus is not gone, scientists stress.
"It should be clear and understood that from today the use of the mask for coronavirus outdoors is not completely abolished," the president of the Union of Pulmonologists of Greece, Stamatoula Tsikrika, stresses to APE-MPE. She underlines the strong recommendation of the expert committee to maintain the mask where crowding is observed and for its use by people with risk factors for severe disease and for people who have not been vaccinated against SARS Cov-2.
"The epidemiological indicators in our country do not yet allow for the complete abandonment of masks even outdoors, while the dynamics of the virus is under constant close health surveillance," she notes.
The epidemiological picture is improving, the wave of the "Omicron" variant is shrinking, while the hard indicators show a de-escalation, with a decrease in new admissions, a decrease in the total number of hospitalised patients, a decrease in the number of patients remaining intubated and a decrease in the number of deaths.
Also according to the latest data, 74.9% of the general population - exactly the same as the European Union average - and 84.4% of the adult population have been vaccinated with at least one dose. In addition, 96% have completed the vaccination at 7 months for the bivalent and 3 months for the single dose booster vaccine, and only 4% have not carried out the booster dose.
It is obvious that we are going through a phase where we will coexist with the virus circulating among us and each of us will have to make decisions about the activities in which we will participate, depending on our age, our health and the presence of vulnerable people in our homes, said Vana Papaevangelou, Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and member of the Expert Committee.
Mitsotakis' message on masks in schools
Kyriakos Mitsotakis left an open "window" for the removal of masks in school classrooms as well during his visit to Syros.
"From tomorrow (today, Saturday 5/3) we do not need to wear a mask outdoors. And I believe that soon we will get rid of the masks inside the classroom because I know that it was a big trouble and difficult for you and bravo to you for managing to be so disciplined, but I think that the pandemic is over now and we will be able to slowly return to our normality, "he said.
Source: in.gr
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