The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has advised that people can choose to wear FFP3 and the slightly lower-grade FFP2 respirator or medical masks instead of cloth masks if they wish, but stopped short of recommending the higher-grade masks to the public instead of cloth ones….
…Nphet has advised that a respirator or medical mask rather than a cloth mask should ideally be worn by anyone who is a confirmed case while infectious, who has Covid-19 symptoms, who is a household contact of a case or who is visiting a healthcare setting or a vulnerable person.
Xmask Tree, an art installation by Kildare photographer and visual artist Eamonn Farrell on a whitethorn tree in the middle of the Curragh.
The tree – decorated with disposable face masks, inscribed with the legend ‘We Shall Overcome’ – is festooned with fairy lights and other baubles which would normally adorn a Christmas tree, drawing attention to…
‘… the pain and suffering being caused to people by the Covid-19 Pandemic. He is also suggesting by the use of the words, We Shall Overcome, from the famous song by folk singer Pete Seeger, that the way to defeat the virus is by positive collective action.
Created a few days ago in a vast empty space on the Curragh, Mr. Farrell, in a message below the tree, has asked anyone who comes by it, to pause for a moment and think of the thousands of people who have lost their lives both directly and indirectly over the last two years, from the Pandemic. He expects to remove the items from the tree on the second of January.’
People Before Profit’s Ruth Coppinger has asked Lidl to mask their staff
This is a neglect of public health by @lidl_ireland, not for the first time. It jeopardises their workers and customers. A manager was walking around with mask on chin, so it’s not just at tiles, it’s a culture. We have some of highest Covid rates in country in #dubw. Any wonder.
As the nation blindly rolls into a second week of our children’s faces being masked in primary school, I beg for pause.
As a play therapist and social worker I am currently experiencing a daily dread as we unbelievably ignore the essential role of our faces; for connection, for communication, for emotional regulation, for learning, for play.
This essential role is more significant with decreasing age. Lest we forget the infant experiencing all of its world through the face of the mother.
The recent recommendations of our Government is further disproportionately burdening our children, their communities and future.
Our faces are not disposable. The short-term harm is evident and long-term harm unfathomable.
The Department of Education has revised a controversial instruction issued to schools last week, which directed that older children should be refused entry to primary schools if they decline to wear a mask without medical reason.
In fresh guidance sent this morning, the department has told schools that “it is not intended that any child will be excluded from a school in the first instance“.
There was outcry last week after primary schools were directed in a memo sent late on Tuesday to refuse entry to older pupils who presented without masks.
Schools were initially told the instruction applied from Wednesday morning. However later the department clarified that “flexibility” would be allowed during the first couple of days.
Quite powerful speeches happening at an anti-mask demonstration outside Leinster House. One woman saying she'll give her life for freedom. A rapturous crowd. #Dublin
Saw a grown woman drop to her knees in tears today at the kids protest. And kids going up to her and making sure she was alright. It was horrific. This is where we are at as a country. So sad.
‘As the phone lines clog up at the general practice where I work with parents seeking an exemption for their children wearing masks at school, I see a glimmer of hope in the publication this week of William Reville’s examination of the limitations and fallibility of narrow scientific analysis (“‘Following the science’ is not enough in a pandemic”, December 2nd) along with Fintan O’Toole’s belated critique of the effective outsourcing of governmental authority to Nphet (Opinion, November 30th).
‘Doctors are trained to have a balanced and holistic understanding of the multiplicity of dimensions that define health and wellbeing, and also to determine when a health intervention is not worth the cost.
‘Children and younger adults have paid enough for the deficiencies of our health service over the past long months and should not be subject to any further steps which do not benefit them directly.’
Journalist and mother Larissa Nolan discusses the new, rushed mask mandate for children over 9 in schools. Pupils from third class upwards must wear a mask all day or be asked to “stand down”.
Can my child really be refused entry to school for not wearing a mask?
Department of Education guidelines state unmasked pupils in third class upwards will be refused entry to school if they do not have a medical certificate to show they are exempt from the rules. Schools, however, are being advised by the Government to take a “flexible” and “practical” approach to the new rules over the coming days.
Are these rules underpinned by law?
The guidelines are not statutory but, like existing rules on face masks for secondary students, schools are required to implement them. When asked if school principals will be legally protected when implementing the wearing of face masks, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said where they apply public health policy they will be “protected definitely”.
On what grounds can a child be exempt from wearing a mask?
There three main grounds under which children may be exempt from wearing a mask:
(1) Any pupil with difficulty breathing or other relevant medical conditions
(2) Any pupil who is unable to remove the cloth face-covering or visor without assistance
(3) Any pupil who has special needs and who may feel upset or very uncomfortable wearing the cloth face covering or visor, for example pupils with intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental health conditions, sensory concerns or tactile sensitivity Do children require a medical certificate to prove they are exempt? Most children will not require a medical certificate on the basis schools are best placed to identify children whose needs are such that the wearing of face covering may not be possible for them. In other circumstances, a medical certificate – from a GP, typically – must be provided to the school.
