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The American High School in Gothenburg introduces requirements for oral protection.
The controversial piece of fabric will be used in the dining room, hallway and other public places.
– The starting point is not infecting others, says director Peter Hedelin.
Sweden has its first school to introduce requirements for oral protection. This is the American high school in Gothenburg, which from today forces students to wear mouth guards in “public areas” such as dining rooms and hallways.
Mouth guards will be distributed free of charge to students in the lunchroom queue.
– We have made it mandatory until fall break to see how it affects the spread of the infection, says Peter Hedelin, principal of the American high school.
The background to the decision is that the school had just been closed for ten days due to an outbreak of infection among students.
– We have had a spread of the infection that started with a party where 2-3 students got infected. After that, we completely switched to distance education, so only today are students in their place again, says Hedelin.
Scattered reactions
The decision has met with mixed reactions from students at the independent school. One student Aftonbladet has spoken with believes the move feels “superfluous.”
– It goes a bit against what Anders Tegnell says. So it’s kind of ironic that we’re being the American school and following the American panic, he says.
Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT
Sweden currently has no requirements for the use of mouth guards in public places.
He describes it as there are two camps at school: those who think you are stupid if you wear mouth guards and those who think you are stupid if you don’t. But all the students seem to respect the decision and follow the new rules.
As good as it gets anyway.
– It’s a bit difficult in the dining room. You have to use your mouth when you eat, says the student.
Controversial topic
The question of the effectiveness of oral protection in reducing the spread of infection is debated both nationally and internationally. Sweden currently stands out as one of the few countries in the western world that has no requirements for the use of mouth guards in public places. According to Peter Hedelin, the school is aware that the topic of oral protection has “unclear scientific roots” but at the same time emphasizes that there may be other reasons for its use in schools besides society in general.
– The starting point in school is not to infect others, not to avoid infecting yourself. There we differ somewhat from, for example, healthcare. But it is also a symbolic question. We want to show that we take the pandemic seriously, says Peter Hedelin.
The requirement will apply until students go on a two-week, ten-day fall vacation. Next, the school must assess whether the mouth guard has had an impact on the spread of the infection.
– Then it also depends on the development of society in general, so there may be several different alternatives after the holidays. If the spread of the infection slows down, you can volunteer with mouth guard after that, Hedelin says.
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