He removes his mask several times as a woman patiently tries to hand it back to him. Video of a 2-year-old filmed in a nursery in the United States has gone viral on social media in the past few days. It was filmed in New York State, where children over two years of age in school or in nursery have been required to wear a mask since September 15.
The sequence, lasting about one minute, has been posted on social networks Friday morning by the boy’s mother. The latter has since removed the video because people are using it to “do bad publicity at the nursery”,
has indicated the American on her Facebook account.
The goal? Limit the spread of the Delta variant, according to the governor
The mother indicates that the nursery staff was only applying the new rules of this state in the North East of the country. By posting these images, she wanted to underline “how ridiculous it is to impose the wearing of the mask on children of 2 years for seven to ten hours a day”.
Since September 15, staff, visitors but also children aged two and over must wear a mask at nurseries, day care centers and schools in this state. The objective is to limit the diffusion of the Delta variant. “For children under 12 who cannot yet be vaccinated, masks are the best line of defense against infection with Covid-19,
advanced the governor, Katy Hochul. This new requirement for masks ensures that children in our childcare facilities benefit from the same protection as children in our schools. “
The federal health agency recommends, but does not impose, the mask for these ages
This age limit joins that recommended by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the main federal public health agency in the United States, said the governor. For nurseries and daycare centers, the CDC recommend – but do not require – the wearing of a mask for children from 2 years old, in addition to other barrier gestures. They make the same recommendations for schools. The American Academy of Pediatrics
advises also wearing a mask from the same age.
The WHO, for its part, recommends wearing a mask from 6 years old. The world organization Explain that “children aged 5 and under should not be required to wear a mask. This indication is based on the safety and overall best interests of the child, and on their ability to use a mask correctly with minimal assistance. “
The new measure desired by Katy Hochul has been received variously by early childhood professionals, relate the
local media.
In May, the previous governor had already decided that children between the ages of 2 and 5 should wear a mask to school or nursery, a measure that ultimately remained in place for less than a week. This summer, masks were encouraged, but not compulsory, for children attending summer camps.