The Gibraltar Health Authority has introduced mask wearing in all areas within GHA buildings due to an increase in the number of patients seen with COVID, influenza and RSV.
The move aims to protect patients and staff.
Visitors will be given a mask at the entrance to all GHA facilities and will be asked to wear these upon entering.
“It is important not to visit any patient or resident at ERS or other GHA facilities if you have any flu like symptoms, or you have been suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea,” the GHA said in a statement.
“We would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that the best way to fight the flu virus or any other virus is by washing your hands regularly and we ask anyone going to any GHA facility to please respect the wearing of face masks.”
The Director of Public Health, Dr Helen Carter, added: “The requirement to introduce masks at GHA facilities is due to a severe increase in influenza and other respiratory conditions.”
“We will keep monitoring the number of patients seen with these and then reduce the need to wear masks in all areas as appropriate.”
“I would like to reassure the public that this situation is being dealt with and we are mostly taking a preventative stance to ensure the safety of our patients, particularly our elderly and vulnerable ones, whilst doing everything we can to make sure that our staff and resources are being protected.”
“We are constantly monitoring infections in Gibraltar and we will de-escalate as soon as it is safe and prudent to do so.”
“The GHA appreciates your patience and cooperation on this matter.”
Campbell looks at the Study: "Unmasking the mask: a time-series analysis of nosocomial Covid-19 rates before and after removal" - at St. George's Hospital in London
Conclusions
Utilising a robust quasi-experimental approach, we found no evidence that a mask policy significantly impacts the rate of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection (with the Omicron variant) While these data do not preclude a small effect, the real-world benefit of this mitigation measure in isolation is likely to be modest within a healthcare setting. Key messages
We are uncertain whether wearing masks or N95/P2 respirators helps to slow the spread of respiratory viruses based on the studies we assessed. Hand hygiene programmes may help to slow the spread of respiratory viruses. Authors' conclusions:
The pooled results of RCTs did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks.
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“Even though we are removing the requirement to wear face masks at GHA facilities, it remains important to protect our most vulnerable patients.”
An outbreak of flu at one of the elderly wards originally led to the introduction of masks.
THEY CANNOT PROVE FACEMASKS PROVIDE ANY PROTECTION. Perhaps the GHA should provide scientific evidence that they are really needed, BEFORE they issue another mandate.
COVID-19 masks provided NO PROTECTION during “pandemic,” British government now admits
Scientists looked at a total of 4,371 studies about COVID, not a single one of which addressed the effectiveness of N95 and other equivalent face masks. In fact, at the conclusion of the investigation, researchers were unable to find a single piece of usable scientific evidence to back the wearing of a medical-grade face covering for protection against COVID.
Lost in all the debate was actual science to support the wearing of masks, science that we now know does not even exist. The UKHSA looked for it but did not find it – and the UKHSA is not a partisan body that necessarily feels strongly one way or another about mask wearing.
"If there's another pandemic around the corner, we still haven't addressed any of these issues," Heneghan added. "We've not learned anything."