SECONDARY school pupils in Scotland should begin “habitually” wearing face coverings from Monday, the Education Secretary has announced.
Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, John Swinney said the new guidance would be issued following an announcement from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
WHO recommends children over the age of 12 should wear face coverings in efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus.
The organisation says while little is known about how children transmit Covid-19, there is enough evidence to show that teenagers can infect each other similarly to adults.
READ MORE: World Health Organisation calls for over-12s to wear face masks
WHO recommended covering the mouth when it is not possible to guarantee a distance of at least one metre, and in places with widespread transmission.
Currently children in Scotland are not required to wear masks in school or on school buses, but some schools have implemented their own guidance on the matter.
Swinney told listeners this morning: “We’re recommending in the guidance that will be published later on today that from August 31 young people over the age of 12 at secondary schools should be habitually wearing face coverings when they’re moving around schools and corridors and communal areas where it is difficult to deliver the physical distancing, which is an inherent part of the guidance which the Education Recovery Group has put in place after widespread consultation and dialogue.”
He said the Scottish Government guidance, which is not mandatory, goes further than WHO’s advice as it calls for masks to be worn on school transportation as well as within the building.
A growing number of teenagers in Scotland have tested positive for coronavirus since they returned to school two weeks ago, but the Scottish Government says this is a result of community transfer rather than transmission occurring in the school environment.
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