Thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there's something new on the back-to-school supply list for the 2020-21 school year - face masks or face coverings.
Most public school districts are mandating face coverings for teachers and other adults who will be working in school buildings. For students, the rules may be different; some districts will require masks, others are making them optional. Either way, there's skepticism on how schools will oversee the latest classroom must-have for kids.
For example, the Hall County School District won't begin face-to-face learning until Aug. 24, but Superintendent Will Schofield said wearing face coverings is an integral part of the back-to-school plan. In fact, he addressed the requirement in his most recent video on the school district website.
All district employees will be required to wear some type of face coverings when working with students and co-workers. Students must have face coverings at school with them and must wear them when they are not socially-distanced from others.
"Unless our hospital system, unless our state health specialists, unless the best epidemiologists in the world in the CDC are lying with some conspiracy that's been cooked up in some back room, face coverings do make a difference and they've been a major piece of mitigation in cases where the spread of COVID has been greatly slowed down," Schofield said.
Dr. Thomas Steimer, the Chief of Pediatrics for Kaiser Permanente in Georgia, who is based in Gwinnett County, said he believes face coverings will provide much-needed safety for students in a school setting, but he acknowledges keeping the masks on the youngest students could get tricky.
"They may not be able to wear them for extended periods of time," Steimer said. "And, I think it's important to keep in mind that for the younger children especially, it seems that they are a little bit less likely to spread infection and the face coverings may not be as important in this group to wear all the time."
To that end, Steimer said the youngest children - up to third grade - may be able to take "mask breaks" at their desks as long as they are properly distanced. Still, they would need to have their faces covered if they approach their teachers or other adults, who are more prone to contract the virus, or if they leave the classroom.
Since most children will need face coverings at some point, Steimer said it's important to purchase the correct size - adult masks won't offer the necessary protection, plus they can be frustrating if the fit isn't proper.
"It's important that the face covering cover the nose and the mouth and to fit snug on the sides," said Steimer. "Where you run into trouble with the younger kids is with the elastic bands or the ties being too big, perhaps the mask itself being too big and wanting to move up toward the eyes."
Plus, students - and adults - need to understand they should handle their masks by the ear loops only in order to avoid contamination of the actual face covering.
Steimer also said it's a good idea to have a good supply of face coverings, not just one or two.
"Because the recommendation is to wash cloth face masks every day after use, I think they're going to become kind of like their socks where you pull one out of the drawer in the morning and send them on their way. Then they put it in the hamper in the evening and it gets washed with the other clothes," Steimer said.
Steimer also noted the information other medical experts have shared when it comes to wearing cloth face masks. The masks don't necessarily prevent the wearer from getting coronavirus, but they do prevent the wearer from spreading germs to others and that is key to preventing the sharing of any respiratory illness.
"What we know is they prevent the respiratory droplets from traveling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the mask coughs or sneezes or talks," Steimer said.
While wearing a face covering may be unconventional and at times inconvenient right now, Steimer said he believes with practice, it will become a habit for students.
"I think it can...they need to get into the habit because it's going to be part of their daily lives for the next year," Steimer said.
