Health experts slam Premier’s primary school mask rule as ‘silly’

Chief health officer Brett Sutton has defended his schools mask rule, as an expert slapped down a grim prediction that schools would spark a new wave.

Leading health experts have blasted a “silly” decision to keep certain primary school children in masks.

The state government announced that mask rules will be scrapped from Saturday in most indoor settings, while the work from home recommendation will also be dropped.

Daniel Andrews confirmed that discussions were under way to stop forcing asymptomatic household contacts of positive cases into isolation.

But primary school children in grades 3 to 6 will be forced to don the face coverings at school, in a move that has been slammed by epidemiologists and doctors.

The Premier on Tuesday said the key decision to keep masks on some students was because vaccination rates in the 5-11 age cohort were still too low.

Premier Daniel Andrews says the decision to keep masks on some students is because jab rates in the 5-11 age cohort were still too low. Picture: Aaron Francis

“I think it’s much harder to get a little kid in prep, or (grade) 1 and 2 to wear their mask than it is for kids who are a bit older,” he said, adding it wasn’t his job to “interpret the advice” of chief health officer Brett Sutton.

“You’ve got to draw the line somewhere. It’s not an epidemiological issue, it’s a common sense issue.”

Chief health officer Brett Sutton has defended the move, saying it would lead to “downward pressure on transmission”.

He said it was his direct advice for kids in grades 3 to 6 to keep their masks on in school.

“They are the least vaccinated cohort ... the evidence on masks is pretty clear,” he told ABC Radio.

But he said the controversial rule would be reviewed at the end of the school term.

We've still got 7,000 cases a day, and children aged 5 to 11 currently have the lowest vaccination coverage. So this is a proportionate measure, for their protection and for ours. It won't be forever.
 
My primary school-aged kids have worked masks into their usual routine. 1/2

— Chief Health Officer, Victoria (@VictorianCHO) February 22, 2022

Infectious diseases physician Peter Collignon said “catastrophic predictions” about schools being the subject of a new large wave were “very wrong”.

“The people who are pushing these restrictions are the ones who have been wrong with the predictions so I think we have to be quite reticent on taking their advice,” Professor Collignon said.

“The biggest spreading events come from bars, pubs and clubs but they don’t wear masks. It’s good news that younger children are now exempt (from masks) but it really should be all primary school children.”

James Cook University professor of infectious diseases modelling Emma McBryde said she “can see no genuine reason” for keeping the mandate in place for that age group.

“I would recommend they draw the line at no schoolchildren needing to wear masks anymore,” she said.

“We should be focusing on the people who are vulnerable at the moment, not the transmitters, because Covid is everywhere.

“It’s a silly measure to keep a small cohort of young children wearing masks. It almost feels as though they can’t let go of control. To me, there’s no genuine rationale of it.”

Infectious diseases physician Peter Collignon said “catastrophic predictions” about schools being the subject of a new large wave were “very wrong”.

Professor of Infectious Diseases Modelling Emma McBryde ‘can see no genuine reason’ for keeping the mask mandate in place for that age group. Picture: Alix Sweeney

“The people who are pushing these restrictions are the ones who have been wrong with the predictions so I think we have to be quite reticent on taking their advice,” Professor Collignon said.

“The biggest spreading events come from bars, pubs and clubs but they don’t wear masks. It’s good news that younger children are now exempt (from masks) but it really should be all primary school children.”

Prominent Werribee GP Joe Garra said it seemed “illogical” to punish an age group that was of “very low risk” of becoming unwell from the virus.

“I’d love to have all the kids vaccinated but their risk to Omicron is so low, so I don’t think you should be masking kids to protect adults. All the adults should be triple vaccinated by now,” Dr Garra said.

Primary school children in grades 3 to 6 will be forced to don the face coverings at school.

Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said some students may find it hard to understand why they had been singled out.

“I think these kids in years 3 to 5 have a great sense of social justice and will struggle with this decision,” Dr Carr-Gregg said.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy said the state government was dividing primary schools.

“It is completely and utterly out of touch,” he said.

“How is that going to work in a grade 2/3 composite class? Half the class wear a mask and half won’t?

“Let me tell you as a parent of a grade 3 son, it’s no different or easier to get a grade 3 to wear a mask than a grade 2.”

Originally published as Health experts slam Premier’s primary school mask rule as ‘silly’