Mask in class, in the school building, or not at all: the rules in Germany differ. A pediatrician is now calling for the corona measure to end.
Munich / Berlin – Heinz-Peter Meidinger described the current Corona * rules at schools in Germany as a “relapse into the wildest small states”. They are not uniform, criticized the President of the German Teachers Association in an interview with the Rheinische Post. In particular, the mask requirement is handled differently from state to state. A Berlin pediatrician has now called for the end of this measure – for all children.
Association of paediatricians with severe criticism: “We torture children”
“Now is finally time again to do normal lessons, to be able to breathe normally through your mouth and nose without the mask being restricted,” said Jakob Maske on Monday (October 4th) on Deutschlandfunk . According to the spokesman for the professional association of paediatricians, children and adolescents had “suffered enough”, put back and taken older age groups into consideration.
“We torture children with masks, we torture them with tests, etc.,” Mask continued. “This is the only group that has to put up with it because they cannot defend themselves.” Finally, teachers’ associations have advocated the continuation of the mask requirement. They were afraid for their teachers and cared little about the rights of children, criticized the spokesman for the pediatricians. “It’s very depressing,” said Maske.
Berlin pediatrician: “When do we want to return to normal?”
Of course, this would spread the corona virus * faster again, said the pediatrician. “But we are not very concerned because children very, very, very rarely get really seriously ill.” However, they should continue to be protected by corona vaccinations * for school staff and teachers.
“When do we want to return to normal? Do we always want to wear a mask now? ”Mask asked further. There are always infections. The coronavirus * is relatively harmless for this age group. “We don’t want to downplay that, there are some difficult courses, no question about it, but at the moment it is a harmless infection for children,” said the pediatrician.
Mask requirement in school: Experts disagree
In Bavaria, children no longer have to wear masks in class since Monday. A decision that not all experts agree with. The virologist Melanie Brinkmann from the Braunschweig Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, for example, spoke out against the abolition of the mask requirement in schools. “With the high number of non-vaccinated people, including children, I consider this decision to be premature – and to be honest, quite stupid,” she told the Rheinische Post .
RKI boss Lothar Wieler also refused to lift the measures. There is no reason to shake the recommendation on corona protective measures in schools, daycare centers and in old people’s and nursing homes at least until spring 2022, he explained at a press conference on Wednesday (October 6). The virologist Klaus Stöhr, on the other hand, tended to agree with Mask’s opinion. The scientist spoke out in the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung for the end of all corona measures – a so-called “Freedom Day” – for minors. (ph / dpa) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
List of rubric lists: © Uwe Anspach / dpa
