“Kindergarten Boys Boycotted for Not Wearing Masks: Mental Health and Learning Impacted”

It has been nearly 3 months since the mask order was lifted in Hong Kong. When the mandatory isolation, vaccination permits, and safe travel and other anti-epidemic measures have completely disappeared in daily life, only masks are advertised as the least expensive. Under the current heat, more than half of the citizens are still staying for a long time. put on. Adults have the right to choose to “wear masks for the rest of their lives”, but young children have “no choice” and are deprived of relevant rights. This newspaper received a report from a parent that their 5-year-old son took off his mask to go to school to adapt to normal life since March, but was boycotted by his classmates for two months. Unhappy, and finally compromised and put on the mask again, the parents were angry and considered changing schools. In addition, some kindergartens secretly issued a mask order in the name of flu prevention, and ordered all teachers and students in the school to wear it all day. Some students reported that they were not allowed to remove the mask during outdoor physical education classes in the hot summer, and felt cramped and uncomfortable. The Education Bureau refused to respond positively to the incident, which is suspected of shirking responsibility. Some councilors pointed out that students collectively boycotted the discriminatory behavior, and urged the Education Bureau to face up to the incident and implement measures to help school children return to normal.

The government revoked the mask order on March 1, and the parent, Mrs. Lee, allowed her 5-year-old son, who was attending a kindergarten in Sha Tin District, to take off the mask to go to school from that day on. The son who has been wearing a mask for nearly 3 years can finally show a smiling face, but the whole class has to “remove the mask”. His classmates and teachers have spoken ill of him, and it has developed into a collective boycott. Tell me, talk to some classmates and tell her not to play with her if she doesn’t wear a mask!”

Reported to the teacher but was hinted to wear a mask

The boycott lasted for two months, and the originally lively and cheerful son became loath to go to school. Mrs. Lee once reported to the teacher that her son was boycotted, but the teacher pointed out that she could not deal with it. Instead, she suggested asking her son to wear the mask back, implying that if he puts back the mask, the boycotting behavior would disappear. In this mask battle alone, it finally turned into a compromise. , from May onwards, Mrs. Lee was angry and disappointed, and once considered changing schools for her son.

Another parent, Mrs. Chan, has a 6-year-old daughter who is studying in the upper class of a kindergarten in Sheung Shui. She took off her mask and went to class without incident. Several people in the class also removed their masks. Some teachers set an example by not wearing masks. But in April, the school ordered all teachers and students in the school to wear masks on the grounds of flu prevention, and all students who did not wear them were ordered to wear them, including Mrs. Chen’s daughter. My daughter reported that she once had a physical education class outdoors in hot weather, and the students had to play ball games, but the teacher ordered the students to wear masks to do sports. The daughter said that wearing a mask to do sports felt cramped and hard. Mrs. Chen reported the matter to the school with a strong attitude, and the teacher approved her daughter to remove the mask. “Even if there is a mask order, you are exempted from exercising. Children may not be able to clearly express their discomfort. It may be too late when they really feel dizzy!”

Schools regard masks as protective shields to protect students, but the impact of the three-year mask order on the mental health and learning of students has gradually emerged. When the mask order was lifted in March, Kong Fanyi, a government expert consultant and clinical professor and director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Department of Internal Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, pointed out that because young children continued to wear masks during the three-year epidemic period, they had no contact with upper respiratory tract viruses, and their immunity to natural infection decreased. , He does not recommend that school children wear masks in school, so as not to observe the mouth shape and hinder speech development.

Lam Wai-sun, vice president of the Hong Kong Society of Infection and Infectious Diseases, said that the immune system needs to be trained to fight against viruses. Before the epidemic, people used to coexist with viruses and bacteria. Healthy people do not need to wear masks for a long time. As a specialist in infectious diseases, he has not worn masks outside of work and public transportation since March, and his children make their own decisions when they go to school. He said, “At first they didn’t wear them, but they got sick several times As for Dai Fan, I explained to them that they should not be worn all day long.” He understands the parents’ concerns and believes that various vaccinations can be vaccinated to enhance protection and allow children to adapt to normal school life with more peace of mind.

Members urge the authorities to face up to and educate the public

Councilor Jiang Yuhuan pointed out that the above-mentioned boycotting behavior involves discrimination, and he is worried that this situation is only the tip of the iceberg, which will seriously damage the hearts of students who are boycotted or bullied. In recent years, the society and even parents have been instilling the message that it is dangerous not to wear a mask, which has also made some students become A bird of fright. She also noticed that when she led the low-level students out for activities earlier, their language and social skills were obviously weak. She urged the Education Bureau to face up to this phenomenon and do a good job in public education. Wear a mask?”

The spokesperson of the Education Bureau did not directly respond to the boycott behavior mentioned in this newspaper and whether the school has the right to issue a mask order on its own. It said that the bureau has notified all schools in Hong Kong that it is not necessary to wear masks on campus from March 1. Provided expert advice to parents and teachers in February this year, allowing them to help students adapt to the cancellation of the mandatory wearing of masks, and face the gradual return to normal life.Reporter Lin Jianping