Tag: face masks

Utah students and staff who don’t wear masks in schools can be charged with a misdemeanor

Students and staff in Utah who don’t wear a mask in K-12 schools in accordance with the governor’s mandate can be charged with a misdemeanor.

The potential criminal penalty for violating the order was confirmed by Gov. Gary Herbert’s office late Wednesday. Spokeswoman Anna Lehnardt said it’s up to leaders of schools and charters to decide whether they want to seek charges as they respond to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.

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Sweden’s disease expert says just wearing face masks could be ‘very dangerous’

Sweden’s top infectious disease expert has resisted recommending face masks for the general population — arguing it’s “very dangerous” if people believe the coverings alone will stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Anders Tegnell, chief epidemiologist at Sweden’s Public Health Agency, has repeatedly expressed skepticism that face masks will control virus outbreaks, the Financial Times reported.

“It is very dangerous to believe face masks would change the game when it comes to COVID-19,” said Tengell, who is considered the country’s equivalent of Dr. Anthony Fauci from the White House COVID-19 task force.

He noted that countries with widespread mask compliance, such as Belgium and Spain, were still seeing rising virus rates.

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Scientists warn it may be years before students can return to school without masks, social distancing

Experts say it may take a couple of years before students can resume classes without the risk of an outbreak,especially among grade-school children. They say a combination of herd immunity, a coronavirus vaccine and hygienic practices are needed to bring the virus down to low enough levels and allow schools to safely return to normal.

“You’re really going to need all three moving forward,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Offit, who was a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, added that social distancing measures are difficult in some school settings. 

Public health officials say herd immunity is not likely soon, adding at least 60% to 80% of the population need to have the antibodies to fight off new infections, leaving the virus without enough new hosts to infect.

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Everyone wore masks during the 1918 flu pandemic. They were useless.

On Nov. 1, 1918, Eugene C. Caley became the first man in Oakland, California, to be arrested for not wearing a mask. He was released on bail, although similar scofflaws in San Francisco had been sentenced to up to 10 days in jail. (Departments donated revenue from fines to the Red Cross.)

“This is only the beginning,” said the chief of police, according to the Oakland Tribune. “We are going to enforce this mask ordinance if we have to pack the city jail with people. This epidemic is too serious to be taken as a joke, and men arrested … will find that it’s no laughing matter when they face the police judges.”

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