Last Friday, the U.S Centres for Disease Control published new guidance for schools, and the news was not welcomed. According to the new guidance, those who are age two and older need to wear masks indoors and in crowded places if they are not fully vaccinated. The report also mentioned the 3 feet rule: inside classrooms, students’ distance has to be at least 3 feet, and schools who cannot comply with the rules should not reopen.
CDC’s latest recommendations
Apart from wearing masks indoors for unvaccinated people and applying the 3 feet distance rule, there are other recommendations. Schools should apply several prevention strategies such as ventilation, screening testing, frequent handwashing and a clear strategy for those who are sick. If a child, teacher or another staff member inside a school feels sick, that person is to remain at home and get tested.
People react to the new CDC recommendations.
After the new guidance was published, people vented on social media about some measures that seem too restrictive. In a recent article, some of the concerns gathered from social media included: the mental health impact on children, how will vaccinated and unvaccinated staff and students be verified to see if they are wearing masks, and also who will protect children against bullying.
Will children follow the rules?
Another question mentioned by parents was how the unvaccinated children would follow the rule if they see their vaccinated peers and teachers not wearing one? It seems that parents believe it will be difficult for unvaccinated children to wear masks, while the vaccinated ones do not have to. The temptation will always be to take the mask off, which means that schools will also have to deal with that.
