Top epidemiologist recommends in favour of continuing indoor masking

Deputy Chairman of the Romanian Society of Epidemiology Emilian Popovici told a specialist videoconference on Tuesday that related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, universal indoor masking should continue when indoors, in crowded spaces, on public transport, in medical offices.

"It is important that the mask is still worn indoors, in crowded spaces by those who do not want to get sick. (...) It should be worn on public transport, and in medical offices," Popovici told the videoconference "Health and Pharma" organised by the Bursa Press Group.

He also recommended distancing oneself from people with "obvious" symptoms, noting that the Omicron strain has the potential to re-infect people that have already been sick with COVID-19.

According to him, the average form of infection with the novel coronavirus may cause brain damage, citing specialist studies indicating that the loss of taste and smell is not transient, as the affected senses may return after a longer or shorter time, and some people have noticed some form of "brain fog."