Face Masks and Choice : Does this apply to secondary school students ?

 Secondary school pupils in England must keep wearing face masks in class after the Easter holidays, says Education Secretary Gavin Williamson.

They will remain a "precautionary measure," until the situation is "reviewed".  The wearing of masks, has been required since schools reopened fully last month though many Headteachers say that masks disrupt learning and should not be used any longer than is "absolutely necessary". ( BBC News 6th April 2021)

Of course a face mask/muzzle disrupts learning; most secondary students I know mumble anyway and it is difficult enough to communicate with them as it is, without the addition of a piece of cloth or impregnated tissue wrapped around the mouth and nose. 

The latest DfE guidance states: "It is expected that face coverings will no longer be required to be worn in classrooms, or by students in other communal areas, at step three of the roadmap, which will be no earlier than 17 May."  DfE updated 6th April 2021

Don't you just love that phrase now so commonly used by the Government in their "guidance" on how to live our lives ?  

We are kept in a continual state of unawareness of what might be decreed on the actual date, so preparation for anything at all is futile as nothing can be said  to be "likely" let alone a definite upcoming event of "end of Covid restrictions".

But what about the damage that is done to our health - and particularly to school children's - by the wearing of these "masks" ?   Much has been said about the possible effects caused by the Covid19 virus but less on the effects that the restrictions are causing physically.  Not only are  our  immune systems being prevented from developing to stave off other viruses, infections and diseases, but wearing certain types of face masks for long periods of time could result in potentially hazardous chemicals and harmful microplastics being inhaled deep into the lungs.

Professor Michael Braungart, director at the Hamburg Environmental Institute and co-founder of the world-renowned Cradle to Cradle environmental standard has told Ecotextile News  that mask wearers unwittingly run the risk of breathing in carcinogens, allergens and tiny synthetic microfibres by wearing both textile and nonwoven surgical masks for long periods of time.

"His recent findings have been backed up by another leading industry textile chemist Dr. Dieter Sedlak, managing director and co-founder of Modern Testing Services Augsburg, Germany in partnership with Modern Testing Services Global, Hong Kong who found elevated concentrations of hazardous fluorocarbons, formaldehyde and other potentially carcinogenic substances on surgical face masks: “I can only say 100 per cent that I have similar concerns to Prof. Braungart.” "

Initial analytical tests by both of these experts have questioned whether people should be wearing certain types of masks for hours on end. Particularly schoolchildren, factory workers and long-haul flyers who may be at a greater risk from the long-term damage to lungs through exposure to both restricted chemistry and microplastics – perhaps outweighing the short-term risk of any exposure to the coronavirus.

“What we are breathing through our mouth and nose is actually hazardous waste,” said Professor Braungart, who ran preliminary tests on used surgical masks which found traces of chemicals such as the known carcinogen Aniline as well as formaldehyde and optical brighteners – both heavily restricted on consumer goods by European and US authorities to minute parts per million concentrations." 

So, we have a choice - if the Government would only let us use it, or we have the strength of mind to refuse to co-operate with restrictions and measures that we know ourselves to be morally and ethically wrong.  The saddest thing to me about this whole scenario is that for many children/students, the "rules" regarding face masks have become just another that they have to comply with in school and that what is definately not "normal" has gradually become so. 

A couple of weeks ago, one of my grandchildren was shouted at by a teacher in the corridor of his school and asked where his mask was. He responded that he had forgotten it and was promptly given a detention  - in effect "shamed" by the teacher in front of many of his fellow students and friends. This something  a fourteen year old boy can well do without as most of us appreciate.

The choice then - wear a mask/muzzle and give consent for your children to do this also at school and risk untold health issues in the future, or, breathe freely and let your immune system build up against the millions of viruses that will always be with us.

I know what my choice is. 

But it is not so simple for a child in school during their formative years. 

The Education Secretary should be ashamed.