Evidence for wearing masks ‘not very strong’, says senior doctor

THE evidence for masks is “not very strong in either direction”, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer has admitted, despite the Government about-turn to insist on face coverings in secondary schools.

Dr Jenny Harries said that the Government was “watching the science” and could “change advice” on the wearing of masks in the future.

She made the comments after it was announced that masks would become mandatory in schools in locked-down areas, and head teachers were given the autonomy to order the wearing of masks in communal areas.

During a question-and-answer session, uploaded to social media, Boris Johnson insisted that he did not want to see coverings in the classroom. He said: “There’s no need for it. Indeed, there’s a need not to have it because obviously it’s very, very difficult to teach or to learn with a face mask on.”

However, Dr Harries said that the wearing of masks in hallways and communal areas “can be very reassuring in those enclosed environments” despite the lack of definitive science.

She also urged people to be “very kind” to those with disabilities who were “struggling” with coronavirus measures such as the wearing of face coverings. “Many of the actions that we have quite rightly taken to control the pandemic can be quite difficult for people with all sorts of sensory disabilities,” she admitted.

The Prime Minister conceded that many young people in lockdown had struggled with “stresses and strains which will have impacted on their mental health” and said that the Government was “massively increasing” funding for mental health services and encouraging the training of teachers so that they could better recognise the potential problems of students.

He insisted that “every pupil needs to be back in school next week”.

Meanwhile, education unions have demanded an urgent inquiry into the exams fiasco which saw thousands of students’ results downgraded.

The general secretaries of the Association of School and College Leaders, the National Association of Head Teachers, the National Education Union and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers have written to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insisting that a probe must take place.