This archive report was first published on 23 August 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued guidance on mask-wearing for children. According to the WHO, children over 12 years old should wear masks in line with adult practice, particularly when they cannot guarantee a distance of at least one meter from others and there is widespread transmission in the area.
On August 23, 2020, the WHO published its guidance on its website, covering three age groups. For children aged 12 and over, the WHO advises wearing a mask under the same conditions as adults. For children aged between six and 11, the WHO recommends taking into account how widespread the transmission of the virus is and whether the child is interacting with high-risk individuals such as the elderly. Children aged five and under should not, under normal circumstances, wear masks.
According to the WHO, more than 800,000 people have now died with coronavirus worldwide, and at least 23 million cases of infection have been registered. The true number of people who have had the virus is believed to be far higher, due to insufficient testing and asymptomatic cases.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said he hopes the pandemic will be over in two years, but a top scientific adviser in the UK warned Covid-19 might never be eradicated, with people needing regular vaccinations.
For teachers, the WHO says: “In areas where there is widespread transmission, all adults under the age of 60 and who are in general good health should wear fabric masks when they cannot guarantee at least a one-metre distance from others. This is particularly important for adults working with children who may have close contact with children and one another.”
Adults aged 60 or over, or those with underlying health conditions, should wear medical masks, it says.
France recently made it mandatory for all children over 11 to wear masks, and a number of schools in the UK are taking it upon themselves to require students to wear them even though this is not official government guidance.
