Japan na-atụle iwebata ntuziaka COVID-19 ọhụrụ

According to Japanese news agencies, a special government commission is proposing introducing new nationwide coronavirus guidelines.

New policy would recommend that children aged two and over should wear face masks “when possibly.”

If adopted, the measure would, first and foremost, apply to daycare and after-school facilities for elementary school students.

The draft recommendations cited by the news sources leave room for exceptions, however, clarifying that “there is no need” to insist on children wearing masks “when they are feeling ill or have difficulties wearing them continuously.”

Children under two would remain exempt, with Japanese government officials citing suffocation and heat stroke as possible risks. 

The news comes at a time when the highly contagious omicron strain is gaining momentum in Japan. On Thursday, the country for the first time chalked up more than 100,000 daily infections.

For the time being, multiple day care centers in Japan have had to temporarily shut their doors due to the rapid spread of the virus.

The head of Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases stressed the importance of reducing infection transmissions among the very young and the elderly, warning that while the “number of novel coronavirus cases is starting to decline among young generations,” the situation still will not improve “unless we see a downtrend among children and elderly people.”

Mask mandates for school children are in place in a number of countries; however, they mostly affect older age groups.

The mandatory wearing of face masks in schools has proven a highly divisive issue, with some parents vehemently opposed to the measure.