And after waking up, the face mask was still there

Face masks were not foreign concepts for us before the current pandemics. They have been used in industrial and healthcare settings for a long time.

And although this is not the case in Colombia, in several Asian countries such as China, Korea and Japan, it was very common before the current COVID19 pandemic, to see people on the street wearing face masks in case of a simple flu.

But as a result of the current situation, the use of a mask is one of the main measures implemented by the government to manage the pandemic. For that reason special regulations associated with these products have been developed.

Surgical masks are included in our Health Regulations as medical devices and as such, they must obtain a marketing approval permit called a health registration. By means of this procedure, evidence is submitted to INVIMA in order to attest that the product is manufactured in compliant facilities and in such a way as to assure that it adequately delivers in regards to its proposed use.

Medical devices regulations for surgical face masks come from before the current health crisis. However, as per the pandemics, the Ministry of Health has issued some norms and guidelines related to the use of masks (considered medical devices or not) and their labeling. This aims to ensure that use of  face masks by people  is adequate for the purposes of prevention of viral airborne transmission.

Wearing a mask is uncomfortable and wearing it all day long can be annoying, but for some people it is more than this. For people with hearing disabilities who require lip reading to communicate, the fact that everyone in public spaces wears masks is truly an insurmountable barrier to their social interaction.

To try to solve this issue, Colombian Congress issued Law 2096/2021 which aims to promote the use of the so called inclusive face masks. These are face masks and other facial protection elements with a transparent section, which allow people with hearing disabilities who require lip reading to understand their peers and other people.

Initiatives like these show us that what at first seemed to be a temporary and quick solution to a transitory   situation could be with us for longer than expected (and desired). When that realisation comes, laws like this come into force aiming to support the handling of situations that for some are more harsh than for others.