Beards and Ties: What Needs to Go in Mexico’s New Normal?

Mexico’s federal government updated its COVID-19 health and safety guidelines for companies and decided to leave out the controversial rule to ban beards and mustaches, as outlined in a report by El Economista’s Factor Capital Humano.

The Ministry of Health had earlier suggested that beards and mustaches were a risk and therefore should be shaven off by those returning to work. After some mild controversy, however, the government decided to alter the guidelines. It opted to leave warnings regarding neckties and jewelry, nonetheless, as on these items a variety of viruses and bacteria can find their home.

Beards and mustaches, however, are not only marked as potential surfaces for the virus to latch onto; they have the added drawback of making facemasks less likely to fit. Reason enough for Queretaro’s health officials to ask workers to shave them off, so that a facemask serves better to protect both users and other people, based on a report by Mexico News Daily.

But perhaps those with beards should not worry too much. “There's no evidence that having a beard per se makes you more or less vulnerable to the coronavirus,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Health Security in an article by NPR. Regardless, Adalja does agree that beards provide ample space for cultivation of bacteria and viruses. And while the debate on wither facemasks are even effective remains indecisive in the medical community, he additionally pointed out that a beard complicates a snug facemask.

Although Mexican workers are free to decide what to do with their facial hair, a shining example can be found looking at the case of two Sikh doctors, reported by CNN. In Canada, two Sikh doctors had made the decision to shave off their beards to be able to continue caring for patients suffering from COVID-19. Despite that Canada has not issued a no beard policy, the doctors chose to shave despite criticism from their own community. For Sikhs, beards are a key part of their faith. The doctors eventually decided that their religion’s pillar regarding service to mankind outweighed the pillar that demanded respect for God’s creation, which includes letting beards grow naturally.

In Mexico, the guidelines were source of some controversy, as companies have to comply with them if they wish to return to work. Critics argued that the guidelines could represent a breach on personal liberties, while supporters pointed out that the virus transcends such liberties.