Brazilian health regulator scraps mask requirements on flights

Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa formed a majority to do away with mask use requirements in the country’s airports and on flights. The change will come into effect once it has been published in the Official Gazette.

Airport and airplane mask requirements had already been scrapped in August 2022, but were reintroduced in November amid an increase in new Covid cases.

Now, Anvisa “recommends” that people wear masks in airports and on flights — especially anyone with flu symptoms or vulnerable people — but their use is no longer mandatory.

During Wednesday’s board meeting, Anvisa chair Antonio Barra Torres likened face masks to seatbelts, despite voting in favor of removing use requirements. He noted that seatbelts are “practically uncontested around the world,” but noted that face masks go one step further, offering protection to the user and those around them. 

The World Health Organization continues to recommend the use of masks for anyone in a “busy, closed, or poorly ventilated space.”

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