Compulsory Masks At schools & Universities: Necessary Or Harmful?

Following the agreements made by Germany’s sixteen states, schools have begun to open after the summer holiday and welcome back students. This is done to help prevent as much as possible a “generational catastrophe”, or the loss of an entire generation of children, adolescents, and young adults who will have an incomplete education due to coronavirus restrictions and the inability to be physically present at the institution of education such as a school or university. However, as part of the precautions taken due to the pandemic, particularly now that new cases are reported to be on the rise, students are required to wear masks in areas such as the corridors and if necessary in the classrooms in addition to a series of other precautions such as having the students wash their hands often. Each of the states is implementing or considering the introduction of this rule to a different degree if they have not implemented it already. For instance, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has children wear masks in the corridors of the education buildings. Berlin, on the other hand, plans on having children wear masks in all areas except for the playgrounds and classrooms, with an option to have the rules extended to the classrooms if necessary.

Similarly, universities and other higher education institutions are also implementing mandatory masks, particularly in areas where social distancing in the form of a minimum distance of 5 feet or 1.5 meters is not possible, such as in laboratories, libraries, corridors or exam rooms. As with every school and state, each of the institutions of higher education is implementing the regulation to a different degree with the option of modifying the extent of the implemented rules. For instance, the University of Mannheim requires masks to be worn in the hallways, staircases, washrooms, and kitchenettes by its employees and students. Similarly, when taking exams, especially aptitude ones, students are required to wear masks as part of preventing infections. To aid with the compliance of this regulation and the form each institution of higher education has chosen to implement, medical masks are distributed to the employees of each university and college, while students are required to procure their own and have them in place when entering the building or moving through certain areas of it. Among the permissible types of protective masks allowed include the standard medical masks, N95 respirators, as well as scarves tied around the mouth and nose. Information regarding the areas where masks should be worn for each of the country’s states and universities can be found on the respective state and university or college websites. Similarly, the regulations regarding universities and colleges within the country, in general, can be found on several important websites such as the one updated by the Ministry of Health.

There are several reasons for mandatory masks being implemented as an act of precaution. Among them is the perception that the rate of the new infections is increasing. It is due to this consideration that many figures of authority consider mandatory masks as a suitable precaution. For instance, the Deputy Government Spokesperson and Deputy Head of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government, Ulrike Demmer, has stated that compulsory masks (or Maskenpflicht as it is known in German) are a reasonable measure. In addition, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's health minister Bettina Martin has stated that she will require masks to be worn at schools outside of classrooms as a means of playing it safe. It should also be noted that Education Minister Anja Karliczek has called for masks to become mandatory in schools when the summer holidays come to an end in August. Among her reasoning for why such a measure should be implemented is the understanding that upholding the proper social distance within limited amounts of space can be a challenge. Similarly, many parents and headteachers believe that masks are necessary as a precaution, especially since students and children cannot afford to lose any more school and education. An example is Steffen Kästner, headteacher of the CJD Jugenddorf-Christophorus school in Rostock.

According to the supporters of compulsory masks, such forms of personal protection aid in reducing the number of infected people by preventing the virus from infiltrating those who are healthy in instances when someone around them is ill. This applies both to instances in which the affected person shows any symptoms or none at all.

While compulsory masks are considered by many as a suitable means of precaution, particularly when there is an increase in the number of new cases, there remains the question if such masks can in fact aid in preventing any further infections. Several studies have been conducted in regards to the effectiveness of mouth-and-nose protection in the form of masks. According to a discussion paper published in June 2020 by Iza, the Institute of Labor Economics, masks have reduced the reported rate of daily infections by approximately 40% following the regulation which made them compulsory. The Institute examined different regions of Germany during the period when masks became compulsory. Each of the regions registered a decrease in the number of reported cases of Covid-19 with the decline ranging between 2.3 to 13% within 10 days of faces masks becoming mandatory. Similarly, other research papers suggest that masks may be able to aid in reducing the number of infections caused by the novel coronavirus. Examples include the research results published by Benjamin W. Abbott, Mitchell Greenhalgh, S. Isaac St. Clair, and Jonas Bush of the Brigham Young University (2020), according to whom the wearing of a mask reduces the transmission of COVID-19 both for healthcare workers and the general public. This is based on evidence obtained through multiple controlled experiments as well as field observations. Quite similar is the conclusion drawn within the research paper by C. Raina MacIntyrea and Abrar Ahmad Chughtai (2020). Said article can be found in the International Journal of Nursing Studies and concludes that community mask use could be beneficial.

However, while there are quite a few research papers that suggest that mandatory masks worn by the general public, especially in areas such as public transport, shops, schools, universities, and colleges can be beneficial, there are quite a few articles which question the effectiveness of masks with regard to the present matter.

One such example is the survey submitted by Elisheva Rosner of the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian, USA (2020). In this survey, 343 healthcare professionals on the front lines of the pandemic were surveyed and asked to describe any adverse effects they may have had when using personal protection equipment (PPE) while working on the front lines of the pandemic. According to the results of the study, prolonged use of equipment such as N95 respirators and surgical masks can result into health issues such as headaches, skin irritation and/or breakdown, rashes, acne, and impaired cognition due to breathing challenges. It is noted within the document that some of the respondents who participated in the survey have noted the disappearance of these medical issues upon removal of the masks. However, some required medical intervention. Likewise, in his research, Denis G. Rancourt, Ph.D., concludes that masks are not likely to be efficient in regards to prevent further coronavirus infections. Said researcher has performed extensive research of scientific papers that examined the effectiveness of masks in regards to viruses similar to SARS-COV-2 such as influenza and the rhinovirus (common cold). Such papers show that although masks can have some level of efficiency in regards to protection, this protection is quite minimal. Quite similarly, research conducted by the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare of the Bond University in Australia concludes that there is not enough data to quantify all of the side effects that might reduce both the acceptability, effectiveness, and adherence of face masks. Due to such a result, new research must be conducted in regards to assessing the harm and downside of such forms of personal protection. Apart from the previously-mentioned research papers, there is further evidence that protective masks, particularly the N95 respirator, can cause issues in regards to breathing. For instance, John Xu and Friedrich Prinz (2020) have established that N95 respirators, while capable of filtering up to 95% of the pathogens found in the air and expelled from the body through acts such as breathing, can also cause a significant reduction in oxygen intake, with the range of reduction being between 5 to 20%. Additionally, according to a research paper by Baskaran Chandrasekaran and Shifra Fernandes (2020), masks can impede the proper performance of the body during exercise due to decreased oxygen intake and increased air-trapping including an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide inhaled. Another research paper which suggests that while masks can provide some form of protection, their level of efficiency is not complete as in absolute protection from the coronavirus is the one published by Derek K Chu, Elie A Akl, Stephanie Duda, Karla Solo, Sally Yaacoub, and Holger J Schünemann (2020). In their research, they have deduced that masks can provide some form of protection, particularly if combined with other safety methods, however, their level of efficiency is not quite high. According to their conclusions, to properly establish if masks and other forms of personal protection can provide an effective defense against infections, further studies and research need to be conducted using different methods.

Because of such research results, many researchers are urging for the need for more comprehensive tests to be conducted using more precise and accurate methods – a request which actively continues to be heard as new research continues to be conducted in regards to means of protecting against Covid-19 and how effective each method or combination of methods is.

Compulsory masks have become the norm within many countries including Germany. The rationale behind the inclusion of compulsory masks is that such an action will aid in preventing a potential increase in the number of infected people. However, there are quite a few research papers that suggest that compulsory masks may not in fact be as effective as thought. In addition, many of these documents suggest that continuous wearing of masks can lead to adverse side effects such as skin problems, difficulties breathing and to decreasing the immune system as a whole. In this case, it can be assumed that compulsory masks will cause the number of diseased people to increase, due to an increased susceptibility to diseases. With this in mind, a strong urge is given by some to finding proper alternatives. Among the examples of such alternatives is the creation of a mask made from copper-mesh, as well as including a means to increase oxygen supply through modifying a N95 respirator.