To wonder how wearing a mask several times a day will work or be safe?

[Lookingforastronauts]

So I'm in Scotland, and as of Monday in high schools, pupils will be expected to wear as mask anywhere indoors apart from in class. Currently my child wears one in the morning on the bus, and another one in the afternoon. Because obviously putting a previously used one on that's been in their bag for 6+ hours is not a great idea. I think sometimes they forget and just wear the same one but I have explained to them the importance of it, given them a clean washable bag to keep them in, and they go straight in the machine when they come home.

My question is mostly for other Scottish High School parents. Am I being unreasonable to think this is a bad idea? That most kids will just wear one all through the day and that this is a risk factor in itself? With 4 "movements" and 2 journeys, that's at least 6 masks. How are most of these kids going to keep track of what's used or not?

Given that mask wearing is a complete waste of time anyway - does it matter? No.

@InDeoEstMeaFiducia

If someone with Covid coughs on your mask, and then you repeatedly touch the front of your mask and rewear it many times without washing it you are increasing your risk of being infected. You need to be sanitising hands before and after you touch your mask and you need to change it regularly.

That's why the entire thing is a farce and may actually be worse than no mask at all. They're not going to go round fucking sanitising their hands all the time - my son used to do that with his OCD, it drove him insane, literally. The risk to even teenagers is low. The idea they're going to go round changing the damn things several times a day and pouring 60%+ rubbing alcohol on their hands is ridiculous and stupid. I've told mine to just sling it round their necks and if asked pick it up (they're using neck gaiters) because it's all so stupid.

I agree entirely. It’s just for show but could well make things worse

I've never washed my masks!

It doesn’t really matter anyway - masks do so little to protect in any event and there’s no way that children will use them correctly, adults are constantly fiddling, pushing them down to talk etc and children will be the same.
The reason for masks is to appease the teaching union and also also appease the really worried parents that “something” is being done.

I reuse the same “disposable” one.

Lots of people on the thread who know better than the WHO, it's fascinating.
They're not going to go round fucking sanitising their hands all the time in our school they sanitise on the way in and out of each class, sanitizer provided, even if they missed the odd one they are still going to be pretty clean.
@SirSamuelVimesBlackboardMonito I would agree with you in pre-Covid times, the things I listed are all specifically health and safety related and violations of this will have to be dealt with swiftly and strongly (no chat over a bit chocolate) or to be honest staff might walk.

Bravo for your school then. Ours hasn't gone all ridiculous, thank fuck. The WHO doesn't run our lives or pay our bills, don't really give a fuck about it .

Really? What kind of mitigations are in your school's risk assessment then?
Extra cleaning, hand sanitising and SD between staff and staff-pupils are in ours.
Masks just in corridors, and that doesn't start till Monday.

For those that say masks don't work, some news reports suggest they offer the wearer protection.

I know this isn't scientific evidence, but it's early days for that yet.

www.thelocal.ch/20200715/only-those-with-plastic-visors-were-infected-swiss-government-warns-against-face-shields

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-25/this-starbucks-in-south-korea-became-a-beacon-for-mask-wearing

@RubyThursday17

You can wash the blue tissue types in the washing machine ...... Was them separately on the quick cycle

Is this true? What a game changer! Excellent if true.

I just don’t believe that masks don’t protect the wearer to some extent. Friends on covid wards have been wearing masks... those in the ward with covid aren’t wearing masks.. and not one of my friends has got Covid, thank the lord. Of course, it makes sense is you are covering your mouth and nose and some sneezes near you this will Offer some kind of protection.

I think the benefits of masks was totally downplayed by the government at the beginning as we didn’t have enough masks for our key workers, let alone the general public

I don't think we really know enough about how masks are effective in the real world scenario we have with the general public wearing masks out and about. It doesn't seem o be the same issue as when HCP use PPE in a hospital setting.

The point of the mask is to catch/slow down your own pathogens. Masks aren't claimed to be effective at preventing the wearer from catching CV. I take that to mean when you're wearing them, if someone else's CV is getting to your mask, it's getting into you anyway. That you might also pick it up by touching your mask isn't a huge increase in risk.

But we don't know and it may end up being a problem and increasing spread or it may end up stopping spread and saving lives. We may never know whether it was actually a good idea.

We've been back for three weeks. Our kids are wearing masks in the corridors and in the lunch hall. They don't have to wear them in the classroom or outdoors.
However, we have staggered lunchtimes, staggered playtime and different zones for different year groups to play in each day. We have two cleaners, who spend the entire day walking through the building to clean door handles, communal areas, tables between sittings, etc. We don't have open days or parents' evenings on site. Our library is currently not open. Once it is, returned books will have to be stored in our classrooms in a box for 48 hours before being returned. We don't give out hand sanitizer but encourage them to wash their hands frequently. We use the bathrooms and also have handwashing stations on the playground.
Yes, most of our kids only have one or two masks. Nope, they don't tend to fling them at the ground or each other and they generally don't mess about with them, either. We are a through school covering ages 5-18. I teach 6-year-olds and they can cope.
If someone is infected and coughs into their own mask while I am wearing mine, it's safer than if the person coughs straight at my face.

As another poster said, I’m a nurse and am on the ward for 13 hours and are expected to use only 1-2 masks in that time period.

I dread to think how many times I touch my mask during that time amidst touching everything else ok the ward.

When it came to lunch we’d take our mask off, eat, and then put the same mask back on.

There are thousands of staff working in hospitals each day so I dread to think how many masks the Trust would get through if we were to change them frequently.....hence why we are told not to.