WHO says children aged 12 and over should wear masks like adults

 

FILE PHOTO: A boy wearing a protective face mask plays in a fountain after local authorities eased lockdown restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Moscow, Russia June 12, 2020. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

 

ZURICH (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said children aged 12 and over should wear masks to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic under the same conditions as adults, while children between six and 11 should wear them on a risk-based approach.

 

Children aged 12 and over should particularly wear a mask when a one-metre distance from others cannot be guaranteed and there is widespread transmission in the area, the WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a document on the WHO website dated Aug. 21.

 

Whether children between six and 11 should wear masks depends on a number of factors, including the intensity of transmission in the area, the child's ability to use the mask, access to masks and adequate adult supervision, the two organisations said.

 

The potential impact on learning and psycho-social development, and the interactions the child has with people at high risk of developing serious illness, should also play a role.

 

Children aged five years and under should not be required to wear masks based on the safety and overall interest of the child, the WHO and UNICEF said.

 

Studies suggest older children potentially play a more active role in transmission of the new coronavirus than younger children, the WHO and UNICEF said, adding more data was needed to better understand the role of children and adolescents in the transmission of the virus, which causes COVID-19.

 

The WHO first advised people to wear masks in public on June 5 to help reduce the spread of the disease, but had previously not issued specific guidance for children.

 

More than 23 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally since it was first identified in China last year and 798,997 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

 

(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz, additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, editing by Mark Potter)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-23

 

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Good makes perfect sense grubby little scallawags lol everyone knows kids are into everything now to me the question is are the adults mature enough to get it done?

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

WHO says children aged 12 and over should wear masks like adults

I don't  know. Who?

1 hour ago, Scot123 said:

What a load of rubbish. Its criminal on the grandest scale. Masks do not work and that is scientific. Tests and papers have been written on the subject of masks and viruses. They basically conclude that it's like trying to stop a mosquito getting into your garden wit a wire fence. Then there is the detrimental health issues from reduced o2 in your blood increases of co2 now dentists are saying people who wear masks are seeing increases in cavities and gum disease.  My hart breaks when I see a kid wearing a mask visibly dirty that is killing the child slowly with every breath. It's disgusting. Wake up, research yourself for god sake.

You're kidding me aren't you, Scot. Apart from the Asian experience in this and previous pandemics, there are a number of studies that show how and why they work. Here's just a few...
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3090440/coronavirus-face-masks-save-lives-japanese-study-says
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/06/417906/still-confused-about-masks-heres-science-behind-how-face-masks-prevent
https://theconversation.com/cloth-masks-do-protect-the-wearer-breathing-in-less-coronavirus-means-you-get-less-sick-143726

Put another way, you and me talking to asymptomatic carriers - you and yours don't wear masks while me and my carrier do. We chat for 10 minutes, our carriers excitedly raise their voice a while. You don't think you've got a higher chance of catching Covid?

I thought the children would be the tool for the spread and development of 'herd immunity' as they are currently not experiencing too many adverse effects.

The virus in the majority of countries appears under control as far as hospital treatment and availability goes.

We are told the virus will continue to spread, re-surface, for some considerable time.

So we can't stop the virus, then lets build a natural immunity which may not defeat the virus completely but may mean our systems can handle it, and perhaps also accommodate a vaccine more readily if/when it arrives.

The elderly can still continue to be cautious but the youth need to restart their lives and the economy as the virus continues to 'run its course'

A post containing false information has been removed along with a reply.  

 

19 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Studies suggest older children potentially play a more active role in transmission of the new coronavirus than younger children, the WHO and UNICEF said, adding more data was needed to better understand the role of children and adolescents in the transmission of the virus, which causes COVID-19.

sounds like conjecture to me, what would be the mechanism for that illogical assertion ?

3 hours ago, scammed said:

sounds like conjecture to me, what would be the mechanism for that illogical assertion ?

Not sure what you mean by "mechanism." But there is evidence to back it up.

https://www.sciencealert.com/older-children-transmit-covid-19-as-much-as-adults-do-new-evidence-suggests

And why would such an assertion be illogical?

1 hour ago, rcummings said:

Not sure what you mean by "mechanism." But there is evidence to back it up.

https://www.sciencealert.com/older-children-transmit-covid-19-as-much-as-adults-do-new-evidence-suggests

And why would such an assertion be illogical?

i meant, that all children will be coughing, screaming and mess around with their masks

every bit as much as adults, children below age 12 will not be less contagious,

not even infants, if anything, their endless screams should blow out more virus then your average adult.

for this reason, i think SWAT teams and para military should

focus their effort on enforcing mask on infants,

while adults may be given a choice as to wear masks or not,

perhaps only enforce it during procreation

Edited August 24, 20206 yr by scammed

3 minutes ago, scammed said:

i meant, that all children will be coughing, screaming and mess around with their masks

every bit as much as adults, children below age 12 will not be less contagious,

not even infants, if anything, their endless screams should blow out more virus then your average adult

So your argument is that masks don't work. The scientific consensus is against you.

Just now, rcummings said:

So your argument is that masks don't work. The scientific consensus is against you.

no, my argument is that below 12 humans will spit out every bit as much virus

as your typical adult. and if you thought 'scientific consensus' has value,

youd be wrong, that wording only apply to politics or bullying and has no place in science

2 minutes ago, scammed said:

no, my argument is that below 12 humans will spit out every bit as much virus

as your typical adult. and if you thought 'scientific consensus' has value,

youd be wrong, that wording only apply to politics or bullying and has no place in science

So have also younger ones wear masks.

1 minute ago, stevenl said:

So have also younger ones wear masks.

yes, especially infants that scream non stop should in a perfect world

have a conscript at all times that see to it that the infant obey directives,

mobilize the army i say

3 minutes ago, scammed said:

no, my argument is that below 12 humans will spit out every bit as much virus

as your typical adult. and if you thought 'scientific consensus' has value,

youd be wrong, that wording only apply to politics or bullying and has no place in science

If most epidemiologists agree that masks work, how is that bullying? Most biologists believe that humans evolved from earlier great apes. Does that mean that creationists are being bullied?

 

Just now, scammed said:

yes, especially infants that scream non stop should in a perfect world

have a conscript at all times that see to it that the infant obey directives,

mobilize the army i say

If it were necessary for the world to be perfect to accomplish things, nothing would ever get done. A good enough world is sufficient.

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9 minutes ago, rcummings said:

If most epidemiologists agree that masks work, how is that bullying? Most biologists believe that humans evolved from earlier great apes. Does that mean that creationists are being bullied?

 

the phrase 'scientific consensus' has no useful meaning in science and are in fact detrimental to our understanding of reality, it discourages the seeking of the truth.

 

a good example of this is the scientific consensus that newton had nailed gravity, and einstein was discouraged to pond the problem of gravity.  but einstein being einstein kept at it, and came up with a theory that better described the mechanism of gravity then newton.

 

mind you 100 german scientists published the first 'scientific consensus' that einstein was wrong, to which einstein responded "why 100 when only 1 would do if they were right"

15 minutes ago, scammed said:

yes, especially infants that scream non stop should in a perfect world

have a conscript at all times that see to it that the infant obey directives,

mobilize the army i say

So now we have moved from under 12 to infants. Many young ones wearing masks here, no problems.

12 minutes ago, scammed said:

the phrase 'scientific consensus' has no useful meaning in science and are in fact detrimental to our understanding of reality, it discourages the seeking of the truth.

 

a good example of this is the scientific consensus that newton had nailed gravity, and einstein was discouraged to pond the problem of gravity.  but einstein being einstein kept at it, and came up with a theory that better described the mechanism of gravity then newton.

 

mind you 100 german scientists published the first 'scientific consensus' that einstein was wrong, to which einstein responded "why 100 when only 1 would do if they were right"

If what you were saying were true, then there would be no such things as scientific advancement at all since no hypothesis would have no greater value than any other.  

And, in fact, Newton's theory is good enough to guide space probes all the way to Pluto. 

And citing a million-to-one exception to buttress your case means you should consult a phenomenon labeled as "innumeracy".

And you still haven't shown how being guided by scientific consensus is somehow bullying.

On 8/23/2020 at 7:22 AM, Tug said:

Good makes perfect sense grubby little scallawags lol everyone knows kids are into everything now to me the question is are the adults mature enough to get it done?

Though seldom sickened they are certainly little energetic walking petri dishes of infection, but you're right about the adults, looks like about half are complete morons...

An unattributed /off topic post has been removed also replies

France and Spain have mandated masks in the open air, both of these countries are having massive spikes in infections. A sign that masks in the open air are not necessary, you have to be pretty thick to walk along a street with no one around you with a mask on.

Edited August 24, 20206 yr by tribalfusion001

15 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

France and Spain have mandated masks in the open air, both of these countries are having massive spikes in infections. A sign that masks in the open air are not necessary, you have to be pretty thick to walk along a street with no one around you with a mask on.

Open air doesn't mean no people around.

18 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

France and Spain have mandated masks in the open air, both of these countries are having massive spikes in infections. A sign that masks in the open air are not necessary, you have to be pretty thick to walk along a street with no one around you with a mask on.

You got it wrong. They mandated mask in the open air (not anywhere, in usually crowded sections) BECAUSE they were having spikes in infections.