Decision on masks for primary in Ireland?

[SuperDuperC]

Hi all, we're in Cork! Just keeping an eye on the news today that they may be deciding on whether children in primary will have to wear masks. Just wanting to see how everyone feels about it? I will personally feel really sad if it comes to this, they've been affected so much already and wearing a mask for 5 odd hours will be uncomfortable and block all facial expressions between each other 😕

Yes I do wear a mask all day at work and always have done due to the sterile environment I work in.
It not comfortable but certainly manageable, I'm sue kids can manage especially for the short 6hrs school day.
I can't quite believe you are all getting in such a twist over wearing a small piece of fabric in front of the face.
Yes if kids are currently the most infected age group then this is a good measure to put in place to lower infection rates as this is how the virus is currently spreading in the community.
Would you rather businesses suffer due to restrictions, shutdowns and cancellations and more people loose their jobs, go bankrupt and taxes increase further to pay for the fallout?
Do you really thing it is sensible to legally challenge this decision? There are many things in society that are not legally enforceable but as good citizens we follow so that society can remain safe and comfortable.

@SuperDuperC

Can no one see this is all to gear us up to be ok with jabs for kids? If you're ok with masking them up then the government will use that to gauge if the nation will be happy to inject our children too! I guarantee schools will be shut early for Xmas and it'll be the same time that jabs are rolled out for primary. Please see this for what it is 👀

Some of us are fine with vaccinating our kids and are only waiting for the chance to give them a vaccine. We don't need to be softened up at all.

Why do you think everything is a plot?

SuperDuperC
If kids wear masks and infection rates drop then there would be less of a case to protect the community from vaccination of the younger generations surely.
By not wearing a mask and increasing transmission and the number of children out of education and in quarantine than it is more likely vaccination for children would be an option for the government!

@saleorbouy but do you have all the windows open and try to concentrate on what someone is saying at the top of the room for 6 hours a day?

You think 6 hours is short for a child? Christ on a bike.

And you do think it is the responsibility of children to ensure business stays open and ensure there are no more lockdowns, that they should just tow the line and be good citizens. I literally am lost for words.

FMSucks
I'd prefer mask wearing to home schooling and the disruption to their development and learning this causes.
Mask wearing and open windows is not ideal but if is the option that allows education to continue the so be it.
If my kids become +ve then no of the family can work, is thus a fair burden to put on my employer and business for the sake of a mask?
What would your solution be?

@SuperDuperC I agree but it'll be after Christmas once loads have come over from the uk and the pubs have been packed etc that they'll start to threaten closing down schools again. The new variant will be in full swing by then too.
My dc told me dcs in their classes had headaches etc with masks on .

My friend sent me a photo of them out last night in a packed pub while our dcs are sitting in freezing cold classrooms with their faces restricted..

@saleorbouy

FMSucks I'd prefer mask wearing to home schooling and the disruption to their development and learning this causes. Mask wearing and open windows is not ideal but if is the option that allows education to continue the so be it. If my kids become +ve then no of the family can work, is thus a fair burden to put on my employer and business for the sake of a mask? What would your solution be?

But are you not at least questioning what is happening? Why is this still happening when we have a vaccine? Boosters? Are you not questioning how long this will carry on for? I do t care if I'm accused of turning/twisting things into a plot, these are my kids and this is wrong, please stick up for your kids a little more guys, this is NOT healthy for them

We have 90 percent of the population vaccinated, people wearing masks and the virus is rampant...

@saleorbouy - the solution is for humanity to wake up and see that it's a virus that isn't going anywhere. We need to learn to live with it.

Everything should be a choice, not mandatory. Let people use their "common sense" (and I use that term lightly as common sense seems to have left the building!).

If my child does not want to wear a mask then he should not have to. He should have no one telling him he won't be allowed into school if he does not wear one.

I'm vaccinated, still picked it up in a shop while wearing a mask and sanitising my hands when I got back to the car. The economy didn't grind to a hault because I was sick for a few days.

Of course I'm questioning but this is virus is an unknown for the world. There is not one country that has control on this virus despite a variety of control methods being implemented.
The vaccine initially stopped the most serious cases being hospitalised and has given protection to some of the most serious symptoms but as it is often misunderstood this does not provide immunity only reduced susceptibility.
Viruses have the ability mutate as we have seen with the many variants, and the vaccine cannot provide full protection against these, only the ability to reduce the effects. Much the same way as the flu jab will only provide resistance against some flu strains.
Small passive actions, hand washing and mask wearing, sanitisation of surfaces etc a assist in the reducing of the spread.
This virus will continue to bounce around the world is various mutated strains becoming more contagious bit less virulent until it is as normal as the flu or a cold.
It is not good for a virus to kill its host as it is self defeating.
Governments must manage and balance the spread and effects to maintain the populations general health, ensure healthcare can provide care for the infected, keep commerce and the economy running and general day to day living standards fairly normal.
It just a balancing act to try and keep infection levels manageable until there is a relatively high immunity either from vaccination or infection within the community.
Personally I'm happy to hand-wash, sanitise, mask wear and curtail my social circle so that compulsory vaccinations and restrictions are not viable control measures for the government.
If this means kids need to wear a mask then so be it. It's less impact than vaccinating them.

SuperDuperC
"this is NOT healthy for them"

What is there about wearing a mask that is not healthy for them? I don't quite understand, it is protecting their classmates.... surely!

@saleorbouy

SuperDuperC "this is NOT healthy for them"

What is there about wearing a mask that is not healthy for them? I don't quite understand, it is protecting their classmates.... surely!

I think anything that restricts your breathing and ability to breath unobstructed and freely, particularly a child, for 6 hours a day is simply not healthy. It also stores bacteria and they should not be touched with hands - impossible for children! I have no masks in shops etc or for much shorter periods, but all day? It is not healthy. This is divisive and it's sad that we have to all argue as we all feel strongly but can we at least agree that it should be choice based? I've had Covid and so have my children, we acted responsibly, recovered and carried on with life.

• no problem with masks in shops etc

There are a lot of jobs where mask wearing is mandatory all day, everyday, even before Covid was about. If I didn't wear a mask as required at work I'd be dismissed.
I honestly don't buy the fact that people or kids can't breathe through them, pure cop out. It's 3 layers of breathable fabric, I don't think the medical PPE industry would develop masks to suffocate hospital staff, that would be a little counter productive!
Sure I'd love to trot around work and the shops without one but if I've to put up with slight discomfort for everyone else's health then so be it, I'm not going to die from wearing a mask and nor will anyone else!
I'm not arguing, I just don't see mask wearing as a big deal I'm afraid.

Look we can all argue all day about this. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on this but at the end of the day we're all arguing about choice really, which children are not being given the courtesy of at school.

If it was not mandatory and children could choose whether to wear masks at school would that make everyone happy?

Not really, we all know that the people who would be aggressively or histrionically choosing for their children not to wear masks are the lulas out at protests and declining to follow any other public health guidance.

@PleasantBirthday - well there you go then. No respect for another person's opinion and that they don't agree with you. Hey ho.

I am double vaccinated, I wear my mask, I social distance, I get my groceries delivered, I eat outdoors in restaurants, I take antigen tests every week before I visit my elderly mother. I do not go to protests, I am a third level highly qualified professional non "lula" and I don't want my child to wear a mask in school.

But that's fine for people like you but the real risk if not from you, it's from the people who don't follow any of the rules and also would object to their children having a mask. Surely you see that?

I'm not in the UK and all kids in school here have been masked since they went back to school about a year and a half ago. It's fine.

But they're not going to anyway are they? It doesn't matter if it's mandatory or not, they won't adhere to it. They are the minority though.

The vast, vast majority of people in Ireland want to do the right thing but we don't want to be backed into a corner about it, particularly when it comes to our children. We want to do what we think is right for our children and I want the choice for my child to wear a mask or not. I do not want to be told that my child is not entitled to an education if they don't comply. It is wrong on so many levels.

But they're not going to anyway are they? It doesn't matter if it's mandatory or not, they won't adhere to it.

And they'll be at home. That's why there has to be a line. Because there are people who will not follow any guideline unless there's a very severe consequence.

@occa

I'm not in the UK and all kids in school here have been masked since they went back to school about a year and a half ago. It's fine.

This is the same for us. It really is a non issue.

@PleasantBirthday

Not really, we all know that the people who would be aggressively or histrionically choosing for their children not to wear masks are the lulas out at protests and declining to follow any other public health guidance.

That's a very unfair assessment. I think it's very unhealthy for young children to wear a mask all day long.

We want to do what we think is right for our children and I want the choice for my child to wear a mask or not.

I take your point FMSucks.
I think part of the problem re mask wearing is down to the limitations of the masks themselves. With the lighter masks, the child who wears the mask is predominantly protecting other children in the class, not themselves. It could be thought of as a type of altruistic behaviour. So for it to work in a group environment and for everyone, most of the children do need to wear them.(Obviously certain exemptions are being applied.)

It's a very different situation with the vaccine, where the person who is injected is protecting themselves first and foremost.