Coronavirus

Brazil reinstates mask mandate for planes and airports after Covid spike

Brazil reinstates mask mandate for planes and airports after Covid spike
Salvador airport. Photo: Joa Souza/Shutterstock

Anvisa, the Brazilian federal health regulator, on Tuesday reinstated a mask mandate for passengers on flights and in airports, which had been lifted in August. The new rules enter into force on November 25.

The reinstatement of the mask mandate was justified by a recent increase in new Covid cases and deaths. In the week of November 6-12, the number of cases jumped by 134 percent, while new deaths went up by 24 percent from the previous week.

The rolling average of daily Covid deaths that week was 45. The average was 214 when the mask mandate was lifted back in August.

InfoTracker, an online panel run by two public São Paulo universities, had projected that transmission rates would increase by November 15, Brazil’s Republic Day and a federal holiday. Official figures confirm the forecast.

A Friday report by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, a federal biological institute, showed an upward trend in new Covid cases in 12 states, including highly-populated ones such as Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, and São Paulo.

Alex Campos, one of Anvisa’s five board members, also highlighted the spread of new subvariants (such as BQ.1 and BE.9), which could evade part of vaccine protections. Separately, the agency on Tuesday authorized two bivalent formulations of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine that tackle new versions of the coronavirus.

The mask mandate also includes vehicles used in airports, such as shuttle buses. Airlines can still offer onboard service, and passengers will be allowed to remove facemasks to eat and drink. Children under 3 are not required to wear masks.