Pedia groups call for continued masking among students in classrooms

Pediatric organizations on Tuesday recommended the continued wearing of face masks among children in indoor school facilities to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections and acquiring serious complications.

At a press briefing, both the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) and the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP) said that layers or protections, particularly face masking, would limit transmission risk in school settings amid the circulating COVID-19 variants and subvariants.

PIDSP president Dr. Fatima Gimenez pointed out that children aged four years old and below are not yet allowed to receive COVID-19 vaccines in the country. Currently, primary vaccine series could be administered to aged five and above, while, 12 years old and above could receive the first booster dose.

“There are consequences to having your COVID-19 infection because you can transmit it whether you’re symptomatic or asymptomatic, and children can be asymptomatic,” she said.

“There is such a condition, a post-infectious COVID-19 infection called MIS-C or multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which can have dire consequences because we have seen children whose hearts have been affected, whose respiratory system has been affected as well,” she added.

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday reported 3,939 COVID-19 cases for adolescents aged 12 to 17 from September 1 to November 3. They, however, clarified that these were not specific to school children.

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday released Department Order 48, allowing the optional wearing of face masks in indoor and outdoor spaces within school premises

This was in line with the implementation of Executive Order No. 7 released by Malacañang last October 28, which made the wearing of face masks both indoors and outdoors voluntary amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

DepEd spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa emphasized Monday that they will adhere to the EO 7, as ordered by Vice President and Education Sara Duterte herself.

“Tayo po, sumunod tayo sa EO 7 kasi nga, [we should abide by the EO 7 because] we always take our cue from the DOH, from IATF, and from the President,” he said.

“Hindi naman po natin sinasabi na ‘wag mag-mask. Ang nasa EO 7, which is andun na rin sa latest health guidelines natin, ay optional ang masking. It’s up to the parents, it’s up to the guardians kung ano ang gusto nilang gawin ng bata kung mag-mask o hindi mag-mask,” he added.

(We are not saying that children should not wear face masks. EO 7 states that masking is optional. It's up to the parents and the guardians if they will make the children wear masks or not.)

While the PPS and PIDSP acknowledge the benefits of face-to-face classes among learners, they warned that unvaccinated children remain susceptible to diseases, thus masking would be “one of the most competent preventive measures to reduce the spread of virus-laden respiratory droplets from asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic infected wearers.”

Aside from COVID-19, they said that face masks may prevent children from getting influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and rhinovirus.

Aside from continued mask wearing, they also recommended optimizing ventilation, maintaining at least three feet of physical distance between students in classrooms, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick and getting tested, cleaning and disinfections, and management of cases and higher-risk activities in schools. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News