- The World Health Organization just provided guidance on the question of whether children should wear masks.
- It is divided into age groups: children older than 12 should wear them, children younger than 6 should not, and for children in between it depends on a handful of factors.
- Mask wearing has been a point of confusion for parents, as children do not tend to get intense symptoms of coronavirus, but still become infected in enormous numbers.
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While children across the country gather to go back to school, the World Health Organization released long-awaited guidance on whether they should wear masks.
It has been a point of confusion for parents amid the coronavirus pandemic, as most children get mild symptoms, but nearly 100,000 test by the end of July, according to the Mayo Clinic and American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital Association.
There is also the inflammatory syndrome associated with coronavirus infections, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has killed at least 10 children in the US.
The WHO convened a multidisciplinary group to evaluate coronavirus in children, which on 21 August released three recommendations for mask wear depending on their exact age group, a document shows.
Read more: The best and worst face masks, ranked by their level of protection
Notably, the WHO said that children aged five and younger should not be required to wear masks. This is based on the general interest of the child, including “psychosocial needs” and the fact that they can not use masks without a lot of assistance.
For children between the ages of six and 11, mask use should depend on these handful of factors, the WHO said:
- Local contamination rates
- Their ability to use masks safely
- Access to masks, as they can be replaced and cleaned
- Adequate adult supervision
- The influence of mask-wearing on psychological development; for this factor, parents should consult with teachers, caregivers, or medical providers
- Their exposure to elderly and people with underlying health conditions, who are at high risk of serious coronavirus symptoms
Finally, those who are at least 12 years old should wear a mask under the same conditions as adults. Significant masks should be worn outdoors if it is not possible to stay more than 6 feet away from people, and inside shops, public transportation, and other crowded locations, the WHO said in June.
That was for the most part before mask wear was politicized in the US, but public health officials are on the same page that covering dusty faces could reduce the spread of the disease that has now killed more than 175,000 people.
Read more: ‘I really do not care, do you?’: How the act of refusing a mask became the new symbol of American fear
In a Missouri salon, as one anecdotal example provided by the CDC, two stylists contracted coronavirus and developed symptoms, continuing to see clients before they were diagnosed. But everyone wore masks in the salon, and researchers could not find a single customer who became infected despite the intimate nature of cutting and styling hair.
Yet masks are not a silver bullet. People tend to be less careful when wearing masks, the CDC said in June. However, masks should be washed, left only in use (you can infect yourself by touching your face), and be worn in addition to other safety measures such as maintaining physical distance from others.
