The department of health has revealed in a new statement that children must wear face masks in schools.
Image via Pixabay
The Department of Health has cleared confusion around the extended COVID-19 regulations, stating that children MUST wear masks at school.
The department of health has revealed in a new statement that children must wear face masks in schools.
Image via Pixabay
The Health Department has clarified confusion surrounding school children and the wearing of masks in South Africa.
According to a new statement issued on Thursday afternoon 5 May, the department revealed that the new “limited” COVID-19 regulations – which came into effect today – pertaining to children being exempt from wearing masks, were made “in error”.
On Wednesday, South Africa recorded its highest positivity rate amid the “fifth wave” of infections
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NCID), there were 6,170 new COVID-19 cases identified, of which yielded a 22.6% positivity rate of those tested.
The majority of positive cases were found in Gauteng province at 41%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 27%.
On Wednesday evening, the department issued a media statement that provided a three-month extension of existing Covid-19 health regulations.
They include:
However, the statement incorrectly stated that children attending school would not be required to wear face masks.
On Thursday, the department did a turn-around, claiming that the regulation was an oversight and was a “human error”.
It said in a new statement regarding school children and masks: “This is not part of the gazetted health regulations, and is therefore retracted to avoid any misunderstanding of the regulations.
“Therefore, children like other people are expected to continue complying with the provisions of Regulation 16A on face masks in the classrooms and general indoor gatherings, unlike outdoors in playgrounds and sports fields”.
Only children under the age of six years are not required to wear masks.
The department of health’s clarification counters comments made earlier today by Health Department’s deputy director-general, Doctor Nicholas Crisp.
Speaking to EWN, Crisp claimed that the department wanted school learners to be “free and able to move as possible”.
He said: “We regard them as a place of learning where we want the children to be as free and able to move as possible. But where there are sick people or people who want to wear a mask, that would be encouraged but if they are in the classroom and there’s sufficient social distancing, then they will not need to wear a mask on school premises
“It’s always been a challenge with small children and even with some older children it’s been a bit of a restriction and so the wearing of masks is less of a concern to us in that particular environment”.
Before the department of health clarifying their statement, parents expressed confusion on social media.
On Twitter, many parents had strong opinions about their children ditching face masks after the start of the pandemic in 2020.
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