Indigenous group in Panama votes against use of face masks

A worker sweeps sand from a restaurant, left, one day before beaches officially reopen after months of lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Veracruz, on the outskirts of Panama City (AP)

A cultural body for the Guna Yala people in Panama voted to ban the wearing of face masks used to combat coronavirus infections, arguing “it is not a custom of our people”.

The measure would drop a requirement for masks in schools and forbid government officials visiting the territories of the Guna Yala from wearing them.