You have to be motivated to follow and understand all the decisions of the Spanish government. After being one of the first countries to make it compulsory to wear a mask outdoors, the Autonomous Region of Madrid has decided this time to ban the wearing of category FFP2 and FFP3 masks, deemed “selfish” by Fernando Simon because they are designed so that the wearer is not infected. The use of these masks will be reserved for professionals. These masks with filter valve will therefore no longer be valid in the street. Lisbob, the expatriate assistant, tells you all about the new ban on wearing the FFP2 and FFP3 mask in Madrid.
Madrid bans wearing FFP2 and FFP3 masks, deemed "selfish"
The autonomous regional government of Madrid published this Thursday August 19 a new ban: that of using the FPP2 and FPP3 masks, the two types of mask that have an exhalation valve, except in professional uses in which this type of mask "Can be recommended".
More specifically, FFP2 (which may or may not have a valve) must be used in health centers: they are used by staff who are in contact with infected patients, when they enter their room or during their transfer. FFP3s are used in tasks at risk of aerosol exposure, such as operations in hospital ICUs. The ban only concerns models of these masks equipped with a valve.
In June, the director of the Spanish Health Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Center (CCAES), Fernando Simón, called these two types of masks “selfish” because they are designed so that the person wearing them is not infected, which should logically be the purpose of wearing a mask.
“The problem with the valve is that the air exhaled by the wearer concentrates it at a specific point. This can cause infection to a person exposed to this air. These masks can be selfish because “I protect myself and don't worry about others”. In some cases, someone who is sure not to be infected but who has to protect himself because he is a vulnerable person, we can propose the use of FPP2 masks, ”Simón said at a press conference June 30th.
To put it simply, the use of the mask is mandatory, but not those that prevent you from infecting yourself.
