Maria Gardo / Cristian Reyno
Valencia/Barcelona
Sunday, January 7, 2024, 19:17
From Friday 5 January, masks will be compulsory in hospitals and health centers in Valencia, Catalonia and Murcia. Health departments in these regions decided to take this step following an increase in influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory infections.
ARI and SARI: Latest weekly surveillance report on influenza, coronaviruses and other respiratory viruses for 2023 shows overall rate of acute respiratory infections in primary care is 908.6 per 100,000 residents It was shown that The previous week there were 806 cases.
in Catalonia Face masks will be compulsory in hospitals, outpatient clinics and social care centres. Local governments also plan to ask the state Department of Health at Monday’s Interprovincial Council meeting to reinstate automatic sick leave, as it did during the coronavirus pandemic.
on the other hand, Murcia, this measure applies to hospitals, health centres, primary care emergency services and clinics in the region. Regional Health Minister Juan José Pedreño said: “With this measure, we want to protect all patients and professionals. We also want to protect all patients and professionals if they have symptoms of respiratory illness, to avoid infection. We encourage people to wear masks everywhere.” Other people”.
of valencia The region has taken similar measures and has already established procedures to be followed regarding the use of masks, which will be mandatory in the following cases:
– There are people with symptoms in the shared space
– Specialists who deal with symptomatic cases
– Hospital and primary care emergencies
・Places where patients and their relatives gather, such as waiting rooms.
– In other situations aimed at protecting vulnerable populations in general, health department managers may use masks in addition to established indications, based on their own protocols and the recommendations of preventive health services. We may establish usage obligations.
in aragon The local Ministry of Health on Friday issued an internal directive mandating the wearing of masks by professionals who provide direct care to clients in health centers and social health centers, and “strongly recommended the provision of masks to the rest of the workforce and the public as a whole.” Recommended. Especially in closed areas or where there are people at an emergency scene.
Acute respiratory infections in Aragon reached 1,184 per 100,000 inhabitants in the last week of 2023, while the influenza incidence was 167.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, with a peak not expected for three to four weeks. There wasn’t.
At the national level, Health Minister Monica García called for an ad hoc Interregional Council of National Health Systems (CISNS) to discuss the “peak of the respiratory virus” with all regional executives. The minister hopes the meeting, to be held on Monday 8 January, will help to “unify standards” on how to manage the situation in each region.