Inconsistencies in stance on masks criticised

THE Department of Health’s retraction of its statement on mask-wearing inside the classroom was just one example of the inconsistencies in the government’s Covid-19 regulations.

Professor of Vaccinology and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits University, Shabir Mahdi, criticised the department for not heeding to the advice from the ministerial advisory committee.

The department on Wednesday released a media statement in which it stressed the importance of mask-wearing in public indoor places, but exempted schoolchildren from the practice.

However, the department on Thursday retracted the statement, attributing its content to “human error”.

“This is not part of the gazetted health regulations, and is therefore retracted to avoid any misunderstanding of the regulations. Therefore, children like other people are expected to continue complying with the provisions of Regulation 16A on face masks in the classrooms and general indoor gatherings, unlike outdoors in playgrounds and sports fields. Face masks are an effective non-pharmaceutical intervention against the spread of the Covid-19 virus, and it is more relevant now as the number of Covid19 positive cases is rising once again,” the latest statement said.

Reacting to the initial statement, education activist Hendrick Makaneta argued against the removal of masks inside the classroom.

“The fact that we still have people who test positive for the pandemic is proof that the wearing of masks is necessary,” he said.

He urged those in authority to make decisions that were informed by science at all times.

“We really need to tread carefully, of course guided by science to what is necessary to protect learners and teachers,” Makaneta said.

There were parents who insisted that they would encourage their children to continue wearing masks, he said: “Parents are within their rights to insist that their children wear masks until they feel safe to learn without masks.”

He said he noted “the revised regulations are noted with scepticism”.

“On the other side we have many learners who no longer comply with the regulations in their current form,” Makaneta said.

This week, president of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa, Dr Kgosi Letlape, cautioned against being “a law-driven society” in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He urged the public to make use of knowledge learnt from the last two years about Covid19 to protect themselves, without being forced by the regulations.

“Whether the government comes in or not we all have the knowledge that says that when the numbers go up, avoid unnecessary gatherings. If you are indoors, wear a mask for your own protection and the protection of others, not dependent on the law… but just based on the knowledge that we have. Continue with the public measures of handwashing, sanitising, distancing, avoiding unnecessary gatherings and all of us will be better forever,” Letlape said.

In a television interview Mahdi agreed that masks do work “but at the population level they are no longer required because we no longer try to prevent infections, we are trying to minimise severe disease and deaths”.

He suggested that South Africa should follow the examples of the UK, the US and European countries, which had effectively stopped people from wearing masks.

“If you pretend that you are wearing the cloth mask and you are expecting it to prevent the infection or reduce the likelihood of you transmitting the virus into the surrounding space then I think you are misled. And especially children, you hardly ever wear these masks correctly and for good reason and not because it is extremely uncomfortable,” he said.

Dr Nicholas Crisp, deputy director general in the Department of Health, apologised for the confusion caused by the media statement on mask-wearing on Wednesday.

“We do want pupils inside classrooms to be wearing masks but they do not need to be wearing masks outside of the classrooms,” he said.

Minister of Health Joe Phaahla on Wednesday promulgated amended Covid-19 regulations in terms of the Health Act to replace those issued under the Disaster Management Act, which expired on Wednesday midnight, following the lifting of the state of disaster on April 5. In terms of the revised regulations, masks are still required to be worn indoors in any public venue, including workplaces and public transport.