“They also noted that general Covid measures such as social distancing and the use of pods in the classroom have had a far greater impact on children’s physical, emotional, social and educational development than masks but that the longer-term impact on social cohesion and learning progress for English as a second language or quieter students is not enough to support continuing with the mask-wearing.
Cases peaked in those aged nine to 11 with the reopening of schools in January, according to the research conducted for Nphet, while this peak occurred later in those aged three to eight years. By mid-February, Covid-19 vaccine uptake ranged from 15.6 per cent in those aged five to 31.4 per cent in those aged 11.
A PCR test is henceforth only recommended for certain symptomatic people, including those aged over 55, those with a high-risk medical condition and those who are immunocompromised.