“interferes with learning”
The chief of medical officers speaks out against masks in the classroom
09/07/2022 04:39 am
With the new version of the Infection Protection Act, it is also possible to wear masks again. The head of the Medical Association of Medical Officers calls for this to be introduced in schools in the classroom only if a particularly dangerous virus variant should occur.
The German medical officers only consider compulsory masks in schools to be justified if a more dangerous virus variant occurs. “With the current variants, it is not necessary to wear a mask in class,” said Johannes Nießen, chairman of the Federal Association of Physicians in the Public Health Service (BVÖGD), according to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Masks significantly impair learning, he added. “They influence language development, make foreign language teaching more difficult and disrupt communication because they cover half the field of vision.” Masks in the classroom should therefore only be used if there is a variant that is more infectious and at the same time more seriously ill than the previously known Omicron variants. The countries should therefore “allow lessons without a mask for as long as possible”.
The Bundestag wants to finally discuss the new version of the Infection Protection Act on Thursday. The possibility of a mask requirement indoors is expressly provided for. What is disputed is what exceptions should be made to this. It is envisaged that the federal states will be able to introduce compulsory masks in schools from the fifth grade onwards if this allows regular face-to-face teaching to be maintained.