Full time mask wearing in schools

[JS87]

Would you be prepared for your child to wear a mask in lessons etc (even in primary school in say KS2 upwards) if it meant they caught less colds/coughs/temps and didn't have to keep isolating to get a cold? I would definitely be happy for DS 9 to wear one if it meant he got to spend more time in school

Yes! I would support it, from KS2 onwards.

I think once the "novelty" has worn off, kids will just get along with it.

It’s going to either be masks or school closures, so choose what’s most important, education, or clinging to this ridiculous anti-mask nonsense.

Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and many other countries insist on masks in schools at all times because they work.

THIS.

MA, USA (from age 5) too also Spain (from age 6).

Why are children in other countries fine with masks, are our children SO inferior?

Also, many children want to.

The mask deniers are the adults, not the children. Children are adaptable.

I bet the kids of vulnerable adults would rather wear masks in schools to reduce the risk their parents catch covid from them (picked up in school) and die.

I don’t think Spain or the USA are great examples in favour of mask wearing.

@tootyfruitypickle

I’d say absolutely not but to be fair DD is happy to ! I’ve not even had a hair cut because I hate masks so much. Absolutely support their use but essentially it makes me stay in my house most of the time as I’d rather not do things that require wearing a mask, so I don’t think it should be essential for school because I wouldn’t have coped as a child with going to school wearing one. Some kids will be ok with it, some not . Not sure it’s the solution here.

So, you're staying in your house because YOU CHOSE TO! I -as being vulnerable- and my kid have to stay at home, not go to school, because of your choice. I don't have a choice! Mine is a medical, not a mental condition. Not wanting to berate you personally, but let's be fair, making vulnerable ppl and their kids miss out on education/etc because ppl don't like masks is insane.

@PatsEarrings

I don’t think Spain or the USA are great examples in favour of mask wearing.

Some parts of the USA are excellent examples in favor of mask wearing.

My US state has been ranked as having one of the lowest Covid infection/death rates and the quickest economic recovery.

We're not experiencing all the issues with school reopening that the UK is experiencing.

Kids are all wearing masks in school.

@PatsEarrings

I don’t think Spain or the USA are great examples in favour of mask wearing.

Why?

I beg to differ - Spain absolultely is an excellent exaple of mask wearing. People are asked to do it, they do it. Kids are managing to wear them from age 6 too.

A separate matter is the rate of infection and the reasons behind it (and may I remind you, the direction in which the UK infection rate is moving is quite something).

But like PPs I would be particularly interested to know what makes UK children so different to so many other nationalities that they absolute cannot cope with the idea of masks.

Answer: nothing at all, they can

I beg to differ - Spain absolultely is an excellent exaple of mask wearing. People are asked to do it, they do it. Kids are managing to wear them from age 6 too.

It's an excellent example of mask wearing but with extremely poor outcomes. They threw their children under the bus with their extreme lockdown - especially their poorest children, stuck for weeks in tiny flats without gardens - and then made their young children spend their days masked and for what? Poorer outcomes than anywhere else in Europe, including here.

@OverTheRubicon exactly they have strict mask wearing and i believe france children wear masks on schools and the infections are high , although no idea how many are schoolchildren etc
People forget masks don't totally stop or guarantee you can't pass it on. ,they are one measure thought to help reduce transmission
It wouldn't suprise me if masks become compulsory for secondary children soon though

Some parts of the USA are excellent examples in favor of mask wearing.

Yep. My state has gone from 1000+ new cases per day to 100-200 since the mask mandate was introduced in June. Public schools arent back in person (which I think is a huge mistake) but DD attends a private school where they wear masks and there haven't been any cases in the 6 weeks since the start of the year.

Europe and the UK is now where the US was over the summer - experiencing a second peak due to restrictions being relaxed. Deaths here never reached the levels of earlier in the year and hospitals coped. Theres no reason to think the EU will be any different. Rather than panic and lockdown again, you just have to get through it IMO. its the only way out.

No

Masks help ensure that if you catch it, it's a milder case, by reducing viral load, as well as slowing transmission.

So they work from both a public health and personal health point of view.

We have children in my school (primary) that choose to wear one. They are from a Chinese background so perhaps a different cultural perception of mask wearing.

You do realise kids have to get sick dont you - that thats how they build up an immune system? Ffs.

I suspect they've had a chance to build up some immune system in all the other years of their life. This is one year we could avoid wilful exposure

You do realise kids have to get sick dont you - that thats how they build up an immune system?

Masks don't completely stop you catching things (unless medical grade). They probably do reduce what you catch and how often but critically they do reduce the viral load for coronavirus and so mean you'd catch it more mildly.

Also, children in Asian countries wear masks and have immune systems that are fine.

If only we had known all them months ago that masks were the magic key to reducing transmission, we could have avoided months of unnecessary lockdown and damage to our mental health and economy, but no we were told they were next to useless as we watched our livelihoods crumble around us

Concerned7777 I know. I'm sure masks could have saved us all. Never mind the 40 odd years of research before covid into how unhelpful they actually are. All wrong.

lljkk - as per previous posters, your post is incorrect. Singapore schools have been open since about June (August for a lot of the northern hemisphere international schools) with no troubles at all. In no way are they 'struggling'.

My British born children wear masks whenever they leave the house and have been doing so since March. It's not pleasant but it's what we need to do. Exceptions are made where required (eg very young children, people with some disabilities). New cases here in Singapore were at one point over 1,000 /day, now down to about 11/day. Failing to implement such measures is only prolonging the pandemic.

I genuinely do not understand this British resistance to mask wearing.

Children from 2 must wear masks or shields at all times when not in the home here (Singapore). Shields only possible for children aged 12 and under, but usually masks are used not shields in schools for age 7+, due to being far more effective.

Numbers from Singapore yesterday - 11 new cases. So far: 27 fatalities. Schools are open 100% with very strict safe distancing measures, including no compromise on face coverings. I'm very happy that my children are at school here not the UK at the moment.

Sorry, just realised I cross posted with @FunkyFunkyBeat !

@lljkk that article you posted re Singapore was from March, prior to the circuit breaker (lockdown)!

@ManiPediNow

I genuinely do not understand this British resistance to mask wearing.

Children from 2 must wear masks or shields at all times when not in the home here (Singapore). Shields only possible for children aged 12 and under, but usually masks are used not shields in schools for age 7+, due to being far more effective.

Numbers from Singapore yesterday - 11 new cases. So far: 27 fatalities. Schools are open 100% with very strict safe distancing measures, including no compromise on face coverings. I'm very happy that my children are at school here not the UK at the moment.

ManiPediNow me too. I see my friends' children in the UK being sent home due to cases within the school, or having respiratory symptoms and having to be at home to wait for an elusive test. I miss home at the moment but I'm immensely glad that my DC are at school in Singapore right now, getting an education (yes, even with an apparently disgusting, cruel and inhumane mask on!)

Do I want to live somewhere where disabled children like mine aren't allowed out or an education? No.

Sockwomble Where is that?

If only we had known all them months ago that masks were the magic key to reducing transmission, we could have avoided months of unnecessary lockdown and damage to our mental health and economy, but no we were told they were next to useless as we watched our livelihoods crumble around us

That's not true. Even the royal academy report, which comes out strongly pro-masks, says that the best evidence shown is that they reduce transmission by around 6%, which is good but not any magic ingredient. Test and trace is a huge part (see Germany) and having people actually follow regulations to isolate, which works better when they have better financial support to stay home. Hand washing sounds boring but matters hugely, and we also lost out because of public transport.

Masks have become a weird religious type thing, they're good but why is noone this obsessed about hand washing?