COVID-19: Face mask rule for secondary school students may be lifted within weeks

In England, secondary school pupils will be told not to wear face masks in the class room from May 17.

The  Prime Minister of the UK is expected to make the announcement on Monday despite several unions kicking against the move.

United Kingdom had given guidance that face masks be worn bt pupils in classrooms where social distancing is not possible but it is not mandatory.

According to the Metro, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson told the Telegraph: "As infection rates continue to decline and our vaccination programme rolls out successfully, we plan to remove the requirement for face coverings in the classroom at step three of the road map."

"Removing face masks will hugely improve interactions between teachers and students, while all other school safety measures will remain in place to help keep the virus out of classrooms."

But in a letter to Williamson, five teaching unions, along with scientists, public health experts and parents, urged the Government not to relax the guidance so early.

They said: "To strip these necessary protections, when there are already too few mitigation measures in schools, and when rates of Covid-19 are still significant, would have consequences for the health of our children and their parents as well as their communities."

The letter warns tens of thousands of pupils and staff are still suffering from long covid and urges the Government to ‘consider the global and national evidence on current infection rates in schools when making decisions about face coverings in school’.

It adds: "These should be continued in schools after May 17, with review prior to the next stage of the roadmap on June 21."

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