"These reusable community masks, authenticated and produced in Portugal, allow an easy lip reading, speeding up communication with deaf or hearing impaired people", explains, in a statement, the municipality of Oleiros.

The municipality emphasises that it is attentive to the needs of the population and assumes its concerns for a more inclusive society.

In this context, it decided to offer about three dozen transparent social masks to people with hearing problems, their immediate family members and some professionals who depend on them to optimise their performance.

"The municipality [Oleiros] considered it extremely important to acquire this which is the first transparent mask produced in Portugal and which was developed in close collaboration with Citeve (Technological Centre for Textile and Clothing Industries), the entity that certifies the masks", sustains.

The Câmara de Oleiros emphasises that in times of pandemic, the use of a mask and social distance make life difficult for deaf people, those who are losing their hearing and sign language interpreters or speech therapists.

"Seeing lip patterns and facial expressions is essential for those who communicate through sign language", he concludes.