Chennai, March 31 

As schools in some parts of the country re-open from April 1, several parents are calling for relaxed mask mandates, especially for children in the 5-11 year age group.

In fact, all Covid-19 restrictions are to be lifted across the country tomorrow, except masking and distancing, in adults – though some States will no longer impose fines on unmasked people.

Online petition

Tanya Aggarwal, a Delhi-based lawyer and Simran Khara, a start-up founder, launched an online petition ‘Unmask Our Kids and Make Masks Optional in Schools’ against mandatory masking for age groups such as 5 to 11 years. The petition has garnered over 2,700 signatures.

“Mandatory masking for children in school without considering age group, environment, and community transmission levels is completely against global guidance of WHO and UNICEF,” Aggarwal told BusinessLine.

Wearing masks will impede the learning and communication ability as young children need to see the faces of teachers and fellow children to develop emotions and build social connections, she added. Further, the petition said, “In severe heat and humidity, our children’s masks will become moist environments suitable for growth of bacteria and fungi close to their noses and mouths.”

According to the WHO and UNICEF recommendation, children aged 5 years and under do not need to wear a mask while children in the age group of 6-11 years are recommended to wear a well-fitted mask In areas where SARS-CoV-2 is spreading. But Aggarwal contended, there was a blanket mandate for wearing masks in many schools irrespective of age or local transmission levels in the community. 

J Rajkumar, Consultant - Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai, said, the mask mandate can be relaxed for young children as they are less susceptible to the virus, compared to elderly. 

“Covid is not just about masks but about other parameters also. Social distancing, ventilated classrooms, regular hand sanitation and hygiene practices can go a long way in avoiding virus transmission among children,” he added.

War still on

Not everyone agrees. Uma Senthil Kumar, Consultant Microbiologist, Neuberg Diagnostics, said, “We have only won the battle against the pandemic and the war is still on. It is too early to relax the mask mandate for the children. They may not be vulnerable to Covid but they may turn out to be a carrier to their parents, elderly people or other immunocompromised people at home.”

Jyothi Prabhakar, Managing Director, ParentCircle, also feels it is too early to let the guard down. “Since there are already talks about another wave in June, we must wait and see what our health officials and ICMR are going to advise on this front. Mask wearing also gives a mental sense of security for the parents that their children are protected.” 

SukhPal Singh Toor, Founder and President of NCR Parents Foundation, also concurred with the view. “We would still recommend that children keep following these safety precautions (like mask wearing) till the time when there is conclusive scientific evidence in India to say that wearing masks can be made optional or done away with.”

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