At schools in Ontario, every staff member and non-kindergarten student is expected to wear a mask indoors, a crucial step in interrupting the spread of the virus in the classroom, experts say.
Unfortunately, not all masks work properly. Especially if they do not fit.
This seems to be especially true for the three-layer cloth masks provided by the Government of Ontario students.
Reports from parents and teachers across the province describe the masks as inappropriate and cheaply made – essentially useless according to medical experts.
If a mask “does not fit properly, it is useless,” said pediatrician dr. Dina Kulik told the Star Thursday. It is “important to have a well-fitting mask that touches all areas of the face.”
People quickly went to Twitter to share photos of children wearing masks provided by the province. Many hung low on the chin, with their noses and mouths completely exposed.
Another pediatrician, dr. Anne Wormsbecker, agreed: “I really want to emphasize the families to get masks that fit your child and that they will wear,” she said. “It means a mask that fits snugly around the face, no big gaps.”
A parent and elementary school teacher in a school board north of Toronto, who asked not to be identified, said the masks her children received were “floppy”, “slippery” and did not fit at all.
“Early in the pandemic when we could not find masks anywhere, I picked up a couple from Dollarama,” she said. “This feels like they do not fit at all. My older child is an almost 18-year-old hockey player. He is not small. It just depends on his face. “
The government of Ontario has sent school boards cloth masks in two different sizes. Packaging on the masks indicates that it can be washed and reused 20 times.
One parent found it worrying: “My biggest concern is that they are only good for 20 washes,” she said.
“You have to wash it once before you wear it. Thus, logically, these masks can only be worn for 19 school days before they are no longer functional, according to the instructions. Will the government provide more? Or do they expect the pandemic to end in 19 school days? ”
More mask shipments are expected, but the lack of communication around this issue was troublesome, the parent said.
“It’s all just a joke to make it look like the government is doing something,” she added. “Praise masks do not work against Omicron.”
Cloth masks are considered to be the type of mask that protects the least. Infectious disease doctor Ilan Schwartz told the Star in December that people should “retire” cloth masks “in the face of Omicron.”
“While cloth masks do provide some protection, there is a risk of creating a false sense of security in them,” Schwartz said.
Dr. Kulik said if it is used at all, cloth masks should be used as the outer layer when it becomes double masked.
One parent said she did not think double masking with the government masks was possible.
“I would not put this mask over a medical mask,” she said. “It is very limp and has no internal structure to prevent it from falling. The riots are not adjustable… Moreover, there is no folded nose piece on the reusable masks given to my children.
“Children hand over COVID like crazy to each other. These awful masks are like a welcome mat for trouble. ”
Elsewhere, another teacher told the Star that her school did not even get the three-layer cloth masks, which left them with even worse masking options – thinner, dirty cloth masks that are reused too many times.
“None (of the masks) arrived at our school,” said a Brampton primary school teacher who asked not to be named.
“Many students wear single or double-layer cloth masks. Some students wear the same cloth mask every day and they are visibly stained with food from lunch or wet from breath condensation… I hope children will soon receive masks so that they can all learn safely. ”
Teachers in Ontario, on the other hand, have provided N95 masks by the government, which provide much better filtration than surgical and especially cloth masks.
Teachers get one N95 mask a day – but are not actually required to wear it. The province’s read your own guide, “Medical masks (surgical / procedural) are required to be worn by school staff and visitors indoors, including in corridors and during classes.”
This has aroused concern among school staff.
“There are staff who continue to wear loose-fitting blue medical masks,” said one teacher who asked not to be named. “Science says if they fit right, they have to be good. But most people do not have faces that fit those blue masks well.”
Another teacher reported the same thing at her CTA school, saying staff still wear “only the pre-break surgical masks.”
Reference-www.thestar.com