Is an 8 or 10 year old child able to wear a coronavirus protective mask correctly? For the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, this seems "very complicated". An opinion shared by doctor Jimmy Mohamed, as he explains on Europe 1. He judges that "to wear a mask, for a child, can be difficult and restrictive. Especially since it is necessary, despite everything, to have a technique specific enough not to get contaminated. "
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Different situations depending on age
Doctor Jimmy Mohamed considers that age plays a big role in the ability to wear a mask. "For children, especially in kindergarten, it will be almost impossible to make them wear a mask and prevent them from becoming contaminated by handling it in the wrong way. On the other hand, we can estimate that from college, it is possible to wear one. "
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If the wearing of the mask is very difficult below six years and possible after 11 or 12 years, for the doctor there is especially "a gray area with regard to the primaries". "Would an eight-year-old child be able to understand it and above all to wear it well without being traumatized and having the wrong gestures?" Wonders Jimmy Mohamed. According to him, the decision "will be at the discretion of each parent, depending on the maturity of each child".
Masks: "Not the alpha and the omega of protection"
Doctor Jimmy Mohamed recalls that the mask "above all protects the person in front of you, so as not to transmit postilions, so it is a winning protection when everyone is wearing it". Putting a mask on your child is not enough, since it does not "protect him or her, individually".
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Other gestures are just as important, "you must also wash your hands. Transmission occurs through hygiene and social distancing. Masks are not the alpha and omega of protection, especially in children ". If parents want to put a mask on their children, it is necessary to "favor certain key moments of daily life: public transport is more risky than a stroll in the forest. The challenge is there: not to transmit the disease to others".