Wearing a mask is still a hot topic for discussion, and there is much debate about its protective function and usefulness. Especially with regard to school. Has wearing the mouth and nose protection actually had an effect and is it so great that the pros and cons outweigh each other? A study has examined this.
In principle, it is difficult to understand how great the cushioning effect of wearing face masks in schools is, since most school locations were subject to more or less uniform rules during the pandemic. But in a school in Carinthia, there was a kind of natural experimental situation that makes it possible to draw conclusions about the differences between continuous use of masks and non-continuous use. In concrete terms, in addition to general classes, there are also “sports classes”; a total of 614 children and young people attended the school during the study period; the mean age was around 15 years.
In the sports lessons, in the research period from September 2021 to the end of April 2022, in contrast to the general lessons, it was possible to practice the subject “Movement and Sport” without a mask, like sports scientist Gerald Jarnig at the APA. Together with his colleague Mireille NM van Poppel from the University of Graz and the doctor Reinhold Kerbl from the LKH Hochsteiermark in Leoben, he investigated the effects of wearing a mask and the results were recently presented.
More infections in sports classes without a mask requirement
In the pandemic phase characterized by the delta variant – i.e. mainly from November 2021 to the turn of the year – and in the first microwave wave of mid- or late January, it was found that among the 195 pupils in “sports classes”, the proportion of pupils infected with the SARS CoV-2 pathogen was significantly higher than in the 419 other young people.
Like many others, this study also confirms that wearing a mask and maintaining minimum distances in schools effectively protects against infection.
After the mask requirement fell, the “catch up effect” set in
However, in the classes studied, the higher number of infections was only postponed: after the end of the mask obligation in the classes and the national resumption of physical education classes, the proportion of young people with a PCR-confirmed Covid 19 infection was almost the same, the authorities report. researchers, who speak of a kind of “catching up effect” in their work.
In view of the results, the researchers argue in favor of scientifically processing the long-term advantages and disadvantages of the containment measure as well as possible. In the future, reliable medical data will be needed here and not individual or regional decisions.
The researchers’ recommendation
Based on the research, Jarnig and Kerbl recommend introducing a mask requirement outside the classroom if there is a renewed sharp increase in the incidence of infection. At the same time, there is hardly anything to be said against maintaining regular classes, including “exercise and sports”, if they are not conducted in class.
In addition, in such a situation it would be useful to specifically test, among other things, teachers who move between the different class groups in the schools. For Kerbl, the masks are “a suitable tool when it comes to smoothing a ‘critical wave'”. However, in other pandemic phases, they would “probably have no advantage” in the school context.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
