Brasilia, Aug 18 : Brazil's National Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) has lifted the mandatory use of face masks in airports and on flights. However, Anvisa said it continues to recommend the use of face masks and social distancing as they are effective measures to mitigate the risk of disease transmission, reports Xinhua news agency. "Given the current situation, the use of masks that was adopted as a collective health measure will become an individual protection measure," it said. In May, Anvisa authorised the resumption of food services on airlines, as well as maximum passenger capacity, but maintained the use of face masks on planes and in restricted airport areas. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, the South American country had registered 34.2 million Covid-19 cases and 682,010 deaths, with an average of 176 fatalities per day in the last week. /IANS