Masks are reintroduced in a Valencian hospital as Covid cases increase

8/15/23, 9:05 AM By Ministry Of Health Costa Blanca Photo Credit: Stock Image

The Doctor Peset University Hospital in Valencia has reintroduced the use of facemasks in certain units, due to a reported increase in cases of Covid. The action was confirmed yesterday (Monday) by the Ministry of Health, who said that the measure is being implemented for an indefinite period of time.

Barely a month after the mandatory use of masks was eliminated in health facilities, the hospital has introduced this measure in its Emergencies, Resuscitation, and Oncology sections, as well as in the ICU.

On July 4th, the end of the pandemic in Spain was declared by the Council of Ministers, however, the official decree allowed for the possible need to reintroduce certain measures at some point in the future if deemed necessary, which, according to the Ministry of Health, is at the discretion of each individual health facility.

Although the end of the mandatory use of masks in hospitals and medical centres was decreed, it did recommend reinforcing the use of them for symptomatic people when they are in shared spaces, and for medical professionals when attending to symptomatic cases, and to those people who work in intensive care units and in units with vulnerable patients, as well as in the emergencies department.

THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF COVID CASES.
In the past few weeks, there has been an increase in Covid cases in the Valencian region, with infections doubling in the last weeks of July to reach the levels of last February, and a huge increase nationally in the sale of Covid tests in pharmacies.

The last dose of the vaccine adapted to the new variants was barely administered to half of Valencians between 60 and 69 years old, and just over 70% of those over 70 years old took part in last February’s vaccination campaign.

This new increase brings an end to the downward trend in cases that started around the beginning of June 2022, however, the good news is that it is not having a significant effect on health facilities.