Thousands of children were told to wear masks when they returned to school today after the half-term break, in spite of zero evidence that masks suppress transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools. The Daily Mail has more.
Schools in the East of England will be urged to reimpose the measure on top of mass testing to halt an increase in coronavirus cases in the region, it emerged yesterday.
“Targeted local action” will affect more than 1.5million people living in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Suffolk.
The plans include asking secondary schools to make masks compulsory in communal areas, as well as the return of routine onsite rapid testing for pupils.
The measures – which will be in place for at least five weeks – were announced by the Health Security Agency, the organisation which has replaced Public Health England.
Extra vaccination and testing teams will also be deployed to the East of England to try and tackle the spread of the virus.
Similar restrictions could be rolled out across other parts of the country this winter if they also see a spike in cases.
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