Masking has become part of our lifestyle both at home and in school. From pre-school to class eight, during mass or during formal events in school, masks are now part of us. Initially enforcing this directive in school was met by a large number of concerns ranging from students with pre-conditions to how safe and clean will they be after classes. But with time, parents embraced the mask policy and this has had a positive impact in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in school.

Several studies over the past year have shown that widespread masking can significantly curb transmission from student to student. For example, one study in Wood County, Wisconsin, last fall found that schools that required masking had a whopping 37 percent lower incidence of COVID-19 than the surrounding community. Another study, conducted in Salt Lake County, Utah, last winter, found that high levels of mask-wearing among students helped keep the rate of in-school spread of the coronavirus to under 1% — even as COVID-19 cases were surging in the wider community.

But studies show that even in situations where these other measures aren’t being used, masking makes a big difference in keeping the virus from spreading. That was one conclusion of the ABC Science Collaborative, a major research initiative involving nearly 1 million students from 100 school districts and 14 charter school in North Carolina. It found that universal masking policies helped keep transmission rates of the coronavirus within schools to under 1% last fall and spring.

“The science clearly shows us that masking is an effective strategy to prevent within-school transmission when COVID-19 is circulating and when vaccination is not yet available for all children,” Dr. Kanecia Zimmerman, co-chair of the ABC Science Collaborative, said in a statement reviewing those findings.

But, again, proper masking is key

Not masking could be disastrous for schools, says Julie Swann, a department head and professor at North Carolina State University who leads a COVID-19 forecasting team funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to a recent modeling study from Swann’s lab, without masking policies or other interventions in place, within the first three months of school, the delta variant could infect more than 75 percent of susceptible kids – those who aren’t vaccinated and haven’t previously had a bout of COVID-19.

“It’s shocking, right?” Swann says. “And I’m the parent of two school-age [children].”

Swann says her model’s projection represents “pretty close to a worst-case scenario” – a situation where kids are wearing ill-fitting masks that don’t filter well and mask-wearing isn’t reliably enforced. But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

With proper masking and other interventions in place, she says, schools may still see some outbreaks because of the delta’s highly infectious nature, but far fewer than they would otherwise.

Closer home, we should continue with the mask policy in addition to adhering to other mitigation measures to help curb the spread of the virus. Have an extra mask in the bag just in case. In cases where your child shows signs and symptoms that are pneumonia-related then it is prudent that the student stays home until when the situation is under control. If by any chance you have had a positive case of Covid-19 at home, then it is advisable that the student comes back after getting the green light from the hospital to interact and mingle with his/her peers. Adhering to the laid down measures is a sure way of staying safe.

Adapted from NPR.ORG