# Masks
This month
January 2023
# Emergency Departments
INMO calls for return of mandatory mask-wearing in crowded settings amid record trolley numbers
Over 931 patients are without beds in Irish hospitals today – the highest number since records began in 2006.
Covid-19 and influenza cases continue to increase rapidly, while notifications of RSV are also increasing
A consultant at University Hospital Limerick said "conditions in many instances are inhumane"
Services at several hospitals around the country are under extreme pressure
Last year
2022
# Your Say
Poll: Do you wear a face mask in crowded places?
For some people, particularly those who are immunocompromised, the pandemic is still a significant worry.
# Covid-19
Government to prepare draft law that would allow return of mask mandate if required
There are currently no plans to implement any such requirement and sources have stated that this is not expected at any time in the near future.
# Scotland
‘No further action’ to be taken over Nicola Sturgeon’s face mask breach
Scotland’s First Minister apologised as Police Scotland confirmed it had spoken to Ms Sturgeon.
# Masks
Cabinet agrees to end almost all Covid-19 health measures from next Monday
Updated guidance will be issued for early learning and childcare providers on preventing the spread of infection.
# Your Say
Poll: Will you avoid certain settings when masks are no longer required?
Masks will no longer be mandatory in schools, shops and on public transport from next Monday.
# ffp2 mask
NPHET recommends clearer advice that medical and respirator masks 'offer greater protection'
Respirator masks include FFP2 face masks.
# Survey
Littering in Irish urban centres increased during 2021 - here are the cleanest towns and cities
PPE litter has also increased in the past year, according to the survey by a business group.
All time
# debunked
FactCheck: This Irish video about masks is incorrect to claim they do not work against Covid-19
A video viewed thousands of times on an Irish Facebook page contains incorrect information about the effectiveness of masks.
Voices
Children and face masks: Some tips from a speech and language therapist
Mask users lose visual information, but there are lots of things you can do to help them, writes speech and language therapist Kate Beckett.
Voices
School principal: 'Consideration must be given to children when it comes to face masks in classrooms'
One school principal writes about their take on the latest advice that children from third class must wear face masks.
Voices
Paul Murphy: If we are serious about tackling Covid, we must get real on ventilation
The People Before Profit TD says ventilation has been all but ignored by the government in the battle against Covid.
# telegram
Anti-mask groups used Telegram to bombard National Parents Council over child facemask rules
The council has received thousands of calls and emails.
# Misinformation
Waterford businesses threatened with legal action by anti-mask group using fraudulent letters
A solicitor whose name appears on the letters has clarified that he is not involved with the group.
# upheld
Court of Appeal rules children must be returned to mother in France after father argues for stay in Ireland
Their father decided he would not return them to their mother over a masks requirement in French schools.
# Israel
Israelis no longer have to wear masks outdoors as Covid-19 cases plummet
Masks will still be required indoors, however.
Fully vaccinated Americans can gather together indoors without masks, health officials say
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced the guidance yesterday.
# NTA
Rows over face masks and Covid-19 'deniers' feature in complaints to taxi regulator
The chief executive of Lynk Ireland has said that complaints over mask wearing are a “two-way street”.
# cases rising
South Korea starts fining people for not wearing masks
The country recorded 191 new coronavirus cases today.
# Masks
Several towns and cities lose 'clean' status amid increase in PPE litter around the country
Dublin, Galway and Limerick city centres all lost their ‘clean’ status, according to a new survey.
# Parade
'Masks and missiles don't mix': North Korea holds giant military parade, ignoring pandemic fears
The state is commemorating the 75th anniversary of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party.
# going underground
DUP MP Sammy Wilson 'offering no excuse' after he was photographed not wearing a face mask on London Tube
Those caught not wearing a mask on public transport in London can face a £200 fine.
# Transport
Complainant alleged taxi driver 'spent the entire trip claiming coronavirus doesn’t exist'
The NTA said it has no powers to act if a driver is not wearing a mask.
# France
Paris officials announce u-turn on mask-wearing requirements for cyclists and joggers
Officials in Paris had made mask-wearing outdoors a universal requirement.
# Coronavirus
Explainer: Everything to know about new face covering regulations
You have to wear a face covering in most shops from today.
# Coronavirus
Face coverings mandatory in shops and other indoor settings from today
It is now mandatory to wear a face covering in shops, hairdressers, cinemas and museums.
# debunked
Debunked: No, you cannot catch Legionnaires' disease or pleurisy from wearing a face covering
There have been fewer cases of legionella infection in Ireland this year compared to last year.
# Back To School
Secondary students: 'If you want us to wear face masks in the classroom, we'll do it'
Students at third level institutions have been advised to wear face coverings if they cannot maintain a distance of two metres.
# covid19
Q&A: Your questions about Ireland's Covid-19 restrictions and health advice answered
Phase 4 has been delayed and there are some new restrictions on the way – what does it mean for you?
# reopening
It's not up to retail staff to police mask-wearing, union says
Shoppers and retail staff will be required to wear face coverings in stores as the government slows down Ireland’s phased reopening.
# Masking a lot
'It looked like the Lone Ranger': Donald Trump appears to perform u-turn on masks
Donald Trump has long avoided being photographed in a mask.
# Coronavirus
Can I catch Covid-19 twice? As the country reopens, people who have recovered have a few questions
Scientists are trying to better understand whether people can be immune after recovering.
# Your Say
Poll: Have you been wearing a mask when shopping or on public transport?
There has been little evidence of widespread mask-wearing among members of the public.
# Consumer protection
New guidelines for producers of Covid-19 face coverings
The CCPC has warned against claims that these items protect the wearer from Covid-19.
Voices
'We cannot just flatten the curve, we need to crush it. Wearing masks will help'
Professor Gerry Killeen has worked on the control of malaria and zika viruses in the past. He says we should all be wearing masks.
# Covid-19
Varadkar: 'Wearing a face mask will not be compulsory if introduced'
CMO Tony Holohan stressed that any change in guidance must not affect supply for healthcare staff.
# HSE
New guidance extends use of face masks among healthcare workers
The move has been welcomed by the INMO.
# Podcast
The Explainer: What is the current thinking - in Ireland and abroad - about wearing masks?
Should you wear one? And if you do, what’s the best way of wearing one?
# Debate
Several countries are making masks mandatory - but experts differ over whether they're effective
Some European countries have ordered people to wear masks outside.
# Not for me
Trump announces new guidelines for all Americans to wear masks... but says he won't wear one himself
“I just don’t want to wear one myself,” the president said.
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