Doctors call for classroom mask mandate for winter

More than 150 doctors and scientists are backing a fresh plea to keep a classroom mask mandate in place over winter, as part of a tougher Covid-19 strategy just put to the Government.

One of the doctors behind the appeal said his colleagues were worried that, with the colder season approaching, New Zealand didn’t have a clear plan to curb the coronavirus.

Wellington urgent care physician Dr Kelvin Ward argued the country couldn’t rely on high levels of vaccination for protection against the virus — and more measures were needed.

With the Government recently loosening some restrictions in tweaking the traffic light system and moving the entire country to orange, he and others were concerned Kiwis stood vulnerable to a second wave.

“We’re particularly concerned about schools going back — especially with a lack of a mask policy in schools.”

Well-known experts who’ve put their weight behind the appeal include Otago University’s Professor Michael Baker and Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, and the University of Auckland’s Dr Anna Brooks, Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles, Professor Rod Jackson, Dr David Welch and Dr Joel Rindelaub.

A key part of their proposed strategy, titled “Vaccine Plus”, was to make masks in schools compulsory over winter, rather than only encouraged as under the orange setting.

“A large number of children — in the order of more than 200,000 — have contracted Covid over the last two or three months,” Ward said.

“It’s true that a lot of kids will have mild infection — but we’re still learning about the potential for long-term effects, and just withdrawing protections is a bit cavalier.”

At times the virus was spreading heavily, the experts wanted to see alternative school learning arranged for children.

As well, they called for CO2 monitoring and air filtration units to all classrooms, along with higher vaccination coverage for children.

While the Government has moved to supply 5000 air purifiers to schools, many of those were yet to arrive — and fewer than a tenth of schools had adequate ventilation systems in place.

Outside schools, he and colleagues urged the Government to update ventilation guidelines for all public indoor spaces, educate the public about airborne transmission and help supply N-95 masks.

In March, the Government moved to simplify the existing system by ending most vaccine mandates and scanning requirements.

Beyond that, there weren’t any immediate plans to make further changes, a spokesperson for Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said this month.