Indoor mask rules eased

Next week, the school will start one after another

[Reporters Lin Xiaoyun, Yang Mianjie, Zhang Weizhen, Qiu Zhirou, Wu Liangyi, Chung Lihua/Report from Taipei] Primary and secondary schools will start school next Monday, and universities will also start school one after another. Liao Xingguo, the chief secretary of the Ministry of Education, said at the press conference of the Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday that he is considering starting school Following the 228th Peace Memorial Day four-day consecutive holiday, many teachers and students may travel. In order to observe the health status of students and carry out campus environment preparation work, schools at all levels and cram schools will still adopt the current epidemic prevention measures for two to three weeks after the start of school. , Indoor class must wear a mask, and the indoor mask order was only loosened on March 6.

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Maintain the current epidemic prevention measures and wear masks indoors

Liao Xingguo explained that starting from March 6, teachers and students will decide whether to wear masks in indoor classes. You should still wear a mask.

School health centers at all levels, school buses, special vehicles for kindergartens, and campus shuttle buses, etc., should still "wear masks" in accordance with the regulations in designated places; those who enter the school have symptoms, are elderly, or have low immunity, or are in crowded places. It is a "special situation" listed by the command center, and it is recommended to wear a mask.

In addition, the Ministry of Education will adopt the airport model in the future to provide rapid screening reagents for teachers and students in need.

Future mining field model for rapid screening reagents

Principals, teachers, and parent groups have reservations, thinking that the classroom space is small, students are close to each other, and it is too early to lift the ban on masks, which may increase the risk of special students who have not been fully vaccinated.

Most student groups support self-determination. Zhang Yumeng, chairman of the Youth League, reminded that students who continue to wear masks due to concerns about the epidemic should not be treated unreasonably; Huang Guankai, president of the student union of the High School Attached to Normal University, believes that many students wear masks. It is a habit and safe consider.

Zhang Shangchun, the convener of the expert advisory group of the command center, explained the four reasons why experts support the relaxation, including herd immunity has been greatly improved, the threat of mutated viruses is not great, and most people can wear masks independently. The loosening of the mask order is also in line with the direction of international epidemic prevention adjustments.

Zhang Shangchun emphasized that the monitoring of domestic COVID-19, influenza, gastroenteritis and respiratory diseases, etc., currently shows that there is no large-scale epidemic, and there is not much risk in relaxing.

Hong Ziren, deputy director of Xinguang Hospital and adjunct associate professor of Yangming Jiaotong University Medical Administration, reminded that recently it has been found that the age group of infected people has gradually moved up, and two-thirds of the recent death cases were people who had not been vaccinated at all. Relax the intensity of epidemic prevention. Even very careful elders may be infected during this wave. Therefore, the command center "recommends" those who wear masks, including those who are not feeling well, and those who have vulnerable groups at home, it is best to wear masks to protect themselves and their families .

Expert: Vulnerable groups are better off wearing masks

As for when the third phase of "full mask exemption" is expected to be launched, Wang Bisheng, the commander of the command center, said that the final phase may be similar to Singapore's abolition of compulsory wearing of masks, and it will be left to the public to decide independently. The implementation of the second phase will be observed and then continue. promote.

From February 20th, "masks are exempted from wearing indoors", and only two designated places "medical care and public transportation" will not be lifted.

(Central News Agency)

Zhang Shangchun, the convener of the expert advisory group of the command center, explained the four reasons why experts support relaxation (provided by the command center)