Several US states announce end of indoor mask mandate 4:06
(CNN Spanish) --
Several states in the United States and some countries are moving towards lifting some restrictions due to covid-19, while many are eager to declare the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
One of the reasons many see this possibility on the horizon is that the omicron variant changed the pace of the pandemic.
"Levels of concern about omicron tend to be lower than with previous variants," Simon Williams, a researcher on public attitudes and behaviors towards Covid-19 at Swansea University, told CNN.
For many, he said, "the 'Covid scare factor' is minor."
The reduced risks posed by the omicron variant compared to earlier variants and the perceived likelihood that people will eventually become infected have contributed to that relaxation in people's mindsets, Williams said.
This has even caused some people to actively seek out the disease in order to "get it over with," a practice that experts have spoken out emphatically against.
Denmark lifts all covid-19 restrictions
They demonstrate in Washington against vaccines and face masks 1:11
The lifting of restrictions by covid-19
Several countries are beginning to lift some restrictions due to covid-19.
advertising
In early February, Finland advised that it was "wise" to gradually lift Covid-19 restrictions considering the number of infections, according to a statement.
The government said that some regions have already reached the peak of this wave "and the burden on the health system has leveled off or has begun to decrease."
Starting February 14, restaurants will be able to serve alcoholic beverages until 11 pm local time and will remain open until midnight.
If things go well, all restaurant restrictions are expected to be lifted on March 1.
And the restrictions on public events, leisure activities in the cultural, sports and event sectors are also expected to be lifted from February 14.
In Norway and Denmark they announced the lifting of coronavirus restrictions since the beginning of February.
Sweden reported that the covid-19 situation was "stable enough" to start easing restrictions.
There, people will no longer need to show their vaccination certificate to attend certain public events and there will be no restrictions on the number of people at public events.
And the Swedish Public Health Agency has submitted a request to the government to no longer classify covid-19 as "a socially dangerous or generally dangerous disease".
The Government also intends to end its covid-19 legislation.
Meanwhile, Spain continues to ease restrictions due to covid-19 and approved increases in public capacity at sporting events, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health published on Monday.
On Friday, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, said in an interview with local media that all covid-19 indicators "are improving, especially with regard to the circulation of the virus."
And in the United States, several states—Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, California, Oregon—announced the end of mandatory mask-wearing mandates, despite guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. , which insists on its recommendation for the universal use of face masks for everyone in schools.
Protests in Canada over restrictions against covid-19 reach their second week, while they investigate alleged cases of hate
Epidemic, endemic and herd immunity... Where is covid-19 going?
5:05
After learning about the decisions of some US states, Maria Van Kerkhove, technical leader of the World Health Organization for covid-19, recommended that people continue to wear masks "particularly when they are very close to other people, but especially when they are indoors and even if they are vaccinated," he said Tuesday during a question-and-answer session on social media.
“We are still allowing this virus to circulate in some situations without control.
And that is dangerous.
We shouldn't be doing that three years into this pandemic," Van Kerkhove said.
"Now is the time ... for governments to support people so they can keep themselves and their loved ones safe."
Van Kerkhove stressed that it's important to keep schools open while continuing to take proper precautions to limit the spread of coronavirus infection, especially with the potential for new variants to emerge.
"We are in a different time"
Dr. Leana Wen, a CNN medical analyst, said Monday that now is the right time for local authorities "to set out on a path to remove indoor mask mandates."
Wen said that as Covid-19 cases decline in many parts of the country and hospitals become less overwhelmed, states should begin planning for relaxation of mask restrictions.
“This is a very different time compared to last year,” Wen said, noting that “last year it would not have been right for us to seek to get mask mandates out, not before there was widespread availability of vaccines, even for this younger age group.
Wen is an emergency physician and professor of health policy and at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
Meanwhile, Dr. José Torradas, a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians, told CNN en Español that the high level of immunity that exists between vaccinated people and those who have recovered from covid-19 yields "a level of protection that you didn't have it before" and that's a positive thing in terms of saving lives.
According to the doctor, the lifting of the mask-wearing mandate should be taken taking into account local contagion rates and that cases drop for two consecutive weeks while weather conditions improve.
But before this there are always challenges.
"Normally when they get up you see increases, although slight, sometimes or larger in others... So there will always be those who criticize the decision, but we have to consider that there are also other factors such as the mental health part, the psychological part. and financial when we make public health decisions but also affect the day to day of the whole world.
"If science and evidence support that the restrictions can be lifted, I think that those who make those decisions should be more comfortable that things turn out well if they do," Torradas said.
What should happen with the restrictions by covid-19?
Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) said last week in a conference with journalists that the virus circulates in different ways in each country, and therefore the WHO recommends the "use of tools that are at hand", he said. WHO epidemiologist Dr. Kerkhove on February 1.
One is mass vaccination "to protect people against the development of severe disease and death and to get patients into the clinical pathway because early clinical care saves lives," Kerkhove told reporters.
And the other is to reduce the spread of the virus using tools "that are readily available," she said.
These are masks, continuing to maintain physical distancing, improving and investing in ventilation systems, and mass testing for covid-19.
"How countries use these tools is up to them, but we urge caution because many countries have not yet reached the peak of omicron," she said.
"Many countries have low levels of vaccination coverage with very vulnerable people within their populations, so now is not the time to lift everything all at once," he said.
Other experts agree on this, such as Dr. Carlos del Rio, executive associate dean of the Emory University School of Medicine, who said that this measure can work for highly vaccinated communities.
"In a highly vaccinated community, given that cases are going down right now with omicron, in a couple of weeks maybe taking off masks is the right thing to do. It gives us an opportunity to lift one of those restrictions that has been so controversial." Del Rio told CNN's Bianna Golodryga on Monday.
He added that there are other mitigation measures schools can take, such as improving air ventilation in classrooms.
Del Rio told CNN that communities must continue to monitor Covid-19 cases, as well as track hospitalizations and test positivity rates.
He believes there are two possible metrics for lifting mask mandates: hospitalization rates and capacity levels in intensive care units.
"If hospitalizations are clearly going down and positivity rates are going down in the community, it's the right thing to do," del Rio told Golodryga of lifting school mask mandates.
Are we reaching an endemic stage?
Some experts within the scientific community are cautiously optimistic that the omicron variant may be the last act of the devastating pandemic, instead providing "a layer of immunity" to the entire population and that the world is getting closer to an endemic stage compared to seasonal diseases such as colds or influenza.
Road to the end of the pandemic: Dr. Huerta explains when covid-19 would become endemic
"My view is that it is becoming endemic and will remain endemic for some time, as other coronaviruses have," David Heymann, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told CNN.
"All viruses try to become endemic, and to me this one looks like it's succeeding," he said.
But the fact that covid-19 becomes an endemic disease is not necessarily good news.
"Endemic doesn't mean it's not dangerous; endemic doesn't mean it's over. Endemic means low circulation. And what we're seeing, the future of COVID-19 is we're going to continue to see outbreaks in susceptible populations," said Dr. Van Kerkhove, above.
Van Kerkhove says she doesn't feel comfortable using the word "endemic" because it's associated with the end of the pandemic.
"If it is endemic, then the pandemic is over. That is not true"
"We cannot use these words to pretend that the virus is over for some and not for others," he said.
-- With information from Jacqueline Howard, Travis Caldwell, Holly Yan, Rob Picheta and Tasnim Ahmed of CNN and Carolina Melo of CNN en Español.
Covid-19