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The World Health Organization (WHO) has once again defended the use of masks and the adoption of measures of social isolation, as a way to stop the covid-19 pandemic. On Friday, the organization made it clear that such measures work.
On Thursday, while Brazil registered a record death toll, with 1,582 cases, President Jair Bolsonaro (without a party) chose to question the use of masks and social isolation.
Asked by the column on what would be the position of the WHO on the use of such measures, the spokesman of the organization, Tarik Jašarević, confirmed that the masks and isolation “help”.
“We have always said that wearing masks alone is not enough. It must be part of a series of measures taken,” he said. “Distance helps, reduces the risk of infection. Masks help, especially when distance is not possible,” he said.
“Each of us can reduce the risks of exposure. This does not mean that the authorities should not put into practice their actions, which include monitoring the transmission of the virus and breaking the chains of transmission, by tracing, isolating and testing people, “he added.
For the WHO office for Europe, it was the isolation measures and the use of masks that allowed the number of new cases on the continent to be cut in half between December and February.
Citing an alleged study in Germany, Bolsonaro said that the masks are “harmful” for children, causing irritability, headaches and difficulty concentrating.
“The side effects of the masks are beginning to appear,” he said, after listing a number of problems allegedly caused by the masks. “I have my opinion on the masks, everyone has theirs, but we are awaiting a study on this by competent people,” he said.
The president also criticized social isolation. “Whoever wants emergency assistance and the city is closed … They will charge the mayor, they will charge the governor, who wants you to stay home forever and wants to send us the bill. [governo federal] we pay. I would have the greatest pleasure of eternally paying a salary so that everyone can live well, without working, but that does not exist ”, he declared.
This week, Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo also criticized the containment measures. In a UN speech, he warned that “fundamental freedoms are today threatened by growing challenges and the Covid-19 crisis has only contributed to exacerbating these trends.”
“Entire societies are getting used to the idea that it is necessary to sacrifice freedom in the name of health. I do not criticize the” confinement “and similar measures applied by so many countries, but a” confinement “of the human spirit cannot be accepted, that it fundamentally depends on freedom and human rights for its full exercise, ”he said.
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